3r~

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OF THE

Theological Seminary,^

PRINCETON, N. J.

BV 4821 .P39 1836 ■ ^

Imitatio Christi.

The imitation of Christ

^OlM

ov

SELECT
CHRISTIAN AUTHORS.

INTRODUCTORY ESSAYS.

N°- 1,

'O'vfU'rc i.- I'oacr. for ilii.n iispallis liasl irode.
Ill iMivi-tv. rfUrciiifiit . ami with God ,

■.-riKl) liV ■WTLT.IAM: COLLINS. CI. ASOOW.

THE

IMITATION OF CHRIST

IN THREE BOOKS:

THOMAS A KEMPIS.

TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN,

BY JOHN PAYNE.

AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY,

THOMAS CHALMERS, D.D. & LL.D.,

PROFESSOE OF THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH,
AND CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF FRANCE,

SEVENTH EDITION.

GLASGOW:

WILLIAM COLLINS, \bb, INGRAM STREET;

OLIVER & BOYD, WM. WHYTE & CO., AND WM. OLIPHANT & SDK,

EDINBURGH; W. F. WAKEMAN, AND W»i. CURRY, JUN,,

& CO., DUBLIN; WHITTAKER & CO., HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO.,

AND 6IMPKIN & MARSHALL, LONDON.

M DCCC XXXVI.

Printed by W. Collins & Co.
Glasgow.

■■^^Qi^QG^iQ^i, )i

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

We have sometimes heard the strenuous argumen-
tation of the Author of the following Treatise in
behalf of holiness, excepted against, on the ground
that it did not recognize sufficiently the doctrine of
justification by faith. There is, in many instances,
an over-sensitive alarm on this topic, which makes
the writer fearful of recommending virtue, and the
private disciple as fearful of embarking on the career
of it — a sort of jealousy lest the honours and import-
ance of Christ's righteousness should be invaded, by
any importance being given to the personal righte-
ousness of the believer : as if the one could not be
maintained as the alone valid plea on which the sin-
ner could lay claim to an inheritance in heaven, and
at the same time the other be urged as his indispen-
sable preparation for its exercises and its joys.

It is the partiality with which the mind fastens
upon one article of truth, and will scarcely admit
the others to so much as a hearing — it is the intent-
ness of its almost exclusive regards on some separate
portion of the divine testimony, and its shrinking
avoidance of all the distinct and additional portions
— it is, in particular, its fondness for the orthodoxy
of what relates to a smner's acceptance, carried to

VI

such a degree of favouritism, as to withdraw its at-
tention altogether from what relates to a sinner's
sanctification, — it is this which, on the pretence of
magnifying a most essential doctrine, has, in fact,
diffused a mist over the whole field of revelation ;
and which, like a mist in nature, not only shrouds
the general landscape from all observation, but also
bedims, while it adds to the apparent size of the few
objects that continue visible. It is the same light
which reveals the whole, that will render these last
more brightly discernible than before ; and whether
they be the prominences of spiritual truth, or of vi-
sible materialism, they are sure to be seen most dis-
tinctly in that element of purity and clearness,
through the medium of which the spectator is able
to recoo-nize even the smaller features and the fainter
lineaments that lie on the ground of contemplation.

It is true, that the same darkening process which
buries what is remote in utter concealment, will, at
least, sully and somewhat distort the nearer per-
spective that is before us. But how much more
certain is it, that if such be the grossness of the
atmosphere as to make impalpable the trees, and the
houses, and the hillocks of our immediate vicinity
— then will the distant spires, and mountains, and
villages, lie buried in still deeper and more hopeless
obscurity. And so it is, with revealed truth : the
light of which is spread over a wide and capacious
arena, reaching afar from the character of man upon
earth to the counsels of God in heaven. When
Christ told Nicodemus what change must take place
upon the earthly subject, ere it could be prepared

Vll

for the glories and felicities of the upper sanctuary,
he was resisted in this announcement by tlie incre-
dulity of his auditor. Upon this he came forth with
the remonstrance : " If I have told you earthly
things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if
I tell you of heavenly things ?" And then he pro-
ceeds to tell of heavenly things, — of the transac-
tions that had taken place in the celestial judicatory
above, and which behooved to take place ere the
sinner could obtain a rightful entrance into the ter-
ritory of the blessed and the unfallen ; of the love
that God bare to the world ; of the mission thereto
on which he delegated his only and well-beloved Son;
of the design of this embassy, and the way in which
it subserved the great object of recovering sinners
from their state of condemnation. These are pro-
ceedings which may properly be referred to the seat
of the divine government, and to the principles which
operate and have ascendency there. The doctrine
of regeneration is fulfilled or verified upon the hu-
man spirit, that is intimately and consciously present
with us. The doctrine of the atonement, or the
manner in which the reconciliation of the guilty is
brought into adjustment with the holiness of God,
and with what he requires for maintaining the cha-
racter and the dignity of his jurisprudence, is fulfil-
led or verified upon the divine Spirit, whose thoughts
and whose ways are inscrutable to man — he not hav-
ing ascended up into heaven. And the expostula-
tion amounts to this : — If a man believe not in the
doctrine of regeneration, how can he believe in the
doctrine of the atonement? If he consent not to

VIU

the one he gives no real credit to the other. He
may fancy it, or feign it out to his imagination, but
he has no faith in it.

The Bible makes known to us both man's de-
pravity, and God's displeasure against him : and if
with the eye of our mind we see not the one truth,
which lies immediately at hand, neither with the eye
of our mind can we see the other truth, which lies
in fathomless obscurity, away from us, among the
recesses of that mysterious Spirit, who is eternal
and unsearchable. But the Bible also makes known
to us, both the renewing process by which man's
depravity is done away, and the reconciling process,
by which God's displeasure against him is averted.
li' we believe not the former, neither do we believe
the latter. If to our intellectual view, there be a
darkness over the terrestrial operation, then is there
an equal, or a more aggravated darkness, over that
movement which took place in heaven, when the in-
cense of a sweet-smelling savour ascended to the
throne, and the wrath of the Lawgiver, who sitteth
thereon, was turned away. And what is true of
each of these doctrines, regarded abstractly, or in
the general, is also true of their personal application.
If we Ji?id not that a renewing process is taking
effect upon us, neither ought we Xo figure that we
have any part in the reconciling process. It is
possible to conceive the latter, even while the old
nature still domineers over the whole man, and its
desires are indulged without remorse, or, at least,
without any effective resistance. But this concep-
tion is not the faith of the mind. It is rather what

IX

the old writers would call a figment of the mind.
The Apostle adverts to unfeigned faith. But sure-
ly, if a man shall overlook the near, and dwell in
thought, on the unseen distance that is beyond it;
if, unmindful of any transition in his own breast
from sin to sacredness, he nevertheless shall persist
in the confidence of a transition from anger to com-
placency in the mind of the Divinity towards him ;
if, without looking for a present hoUness on earth,
he pictures for himself a future beatitude in heaven
— he resembles the man who, across that haze of na-
ture's atmosphere, which wraps all things in obscu-
rity, thinks to descry the realities of the ulterior
space, when he has only peopled it with gratuitous
imagery of his own. The faith of such a one is
feigned. He believes not the earthly things which
are enunciated in Scripture; and, therefore, though
he should take up with the heavenly things that
are enunciated there, they are taken up by the wrong
faculty. To him they are not the substantial ob-
jects of perception, but the illusions of fancy.

The traveller who publishes of distant countries,
that we have never seen, may also have included our
own familiar neighbourhood in his tour, and given
a place in his description to its customs, and its peo-
ple, and its scenery. But if his narrative of the
vicinity that is known were full of misrepresentations
and errors, we could have no belief in his account
of the foreign domains over which he had expatiated.
When we believe not what he tells us of our native
shire, how can we believe when he tells us of shires
or provinces abroad ? And by this we may try the

A3

soundness of our faith in the divine testimony. It
is a testimony which embraces the things of earth
and the things of heaven ; which teaches us the na-
ture of man as originally corrupt, and requiring a
power from above, that may transform it, as well as
on the nature of God, as essentially averse to sin,
and requiring an atonement that may reconcile and
pacify it. If we believe not what is said of the na-
ture of man, and of the doctrine of regeneration that
is connected therewith, then we believe not what is
said of the nature of God, and of the doctrine of
redemption that is connected therewith. We may
choose to overlook the former revelation, and stretch
our attention onward to the latter, as that with
which our fancy is most regaled, or our fears are
most effectually quieted into pleasing oblivion. In
this way, we may seize on the topic of imputed
righteousness, by an effort of desire, or an effort of
imagination; but if the man who does so have an
unseeing eye towards the topic of his own personal
sanctification, he has just as little of faith towards
the former article as towards the latter, whatever
preference of liking or fancy he may entertain re-
garding it. It may play around his mind as one
of its most agreeable day-dreams, but it has not
laid hold of his conviction. The light that maketh
the doctruie which affirms the change of God's mind
towards the sinner believingly visible, would also
make the doctrine which affirms the change of the
sinner's mind towards God behevingly visible. If
the one be veiled from the eye of faith, the other is
at least equally so. It may be imaged by the mind,

XI

but it is not perceived. It may be conceived, but
it is not credited.

There is a well known publication, called the
Traveller's Guide, which you may take as your
companion to some distant land, but the accuracy of
which you try upon the earlier stages of your jour-
ney. If wholly incorrect in the description which it
gives of the first scenes through which you pass,
you withdraw all your confidence from its represen-
tation of the future scenes ; and it may even be so
wide of the truth, in respect of the things that are
present and visible, as should lead you to infer that
you are altogether off the road that conducts to the
place after which you are aiming. The Bible is a
traveller's guide — and it portrays the characters of
humility, and self-denial, and virtuous disciphne,
and aspiring godliness, which mark the outset of the
pilgrimage, — and it also portrays the characters of
brightness, and bliss, and glory, which mark its
termination. If you do not believe that it delineates
truly the path of transition in time, neither do you
beheve, however much you may desidjerate and dwell
upon the prospect, that it sketches truly, the place
of joyful habitation in eternity. Or, at least, you
may well conclude, if you are not now on the path
of hohness, that you are not on the path to hea-
ven. And if you beheve not the Scripture, when
it announces a new spirit as your indispensable pre-
paration here, there may be a dazzling and deceitful
imagination, but there is no real belief of what it
announces, or of what it promises, about paradise
hereafter.

xu

It is thus that we would try the faith of Anti-
nomians. Fancy is not faith. A wilful and de-
termined adherence of the mind to some beatific
vision, in which it loves to indulge, is not a believ-
ing assent of the mind to what a professed Teacher
from heaven has revealed to us of the comintj im-
mortality. How can we believe, upon his authority,
that we are to enter this region of purity and peace,
if we believe not, on the same authority, that the
road which leads to it, is a road of mortification, and
of jiew obedience, and of strenuous conflict with the
desires and urgencies of nature? If the eye of
faith, or of the understanding, be opened on some
field of truth that is laid before it, it will not over-
look the propinquities of this contemplation, while it
only admits the objects which lie on the remoter
part of the territory. It is evidence which opens
this eye ; and that evidence which has failed to open
it to what is near, will equally fail to open it to
what is distant. But though the eye of the under-
standing be shut, the eye of the imagination may
be open. This requires no evidence, and the man
who is without faith in the realities which lie on the
other side of death, may nevertheless be all awake
in his fancy to those images of bliss with which he
has embellished it, and may even possess his own
heart with the pleasing anticipation of it as his des-
tined inheritance. It is not upon his fancy, how-
ever, but upon his faith, that the fulfilment of this
anticipation will turn, — a faith which, had it been
real, would have had respect unto the prescribed
road, as well as unto the revealed inheritance, — a

XIU

faith which would have found him in holiness here,
as well as in heaven hereafter. That semblance of
it wliich tlie Antinomian has is a mere vagary, that
may amuse or may harden him in the midst of his
present worldliness, but which will be dissipated
into nought at the judgment-seat, when for the
treacherous phantom which deceived him in time,
a tremendous reality will be aw^arded to him for
eternity.

We like not that writer to be \-iolently alleged
against, who expounds, and expounds truly, the
amount of Christian holiness, because he says not
enough, it is thought, of the warrants and securities
that are provided in the gospel for Christian hope.
We think, that to shed a luminousness over one
portion of the divine testimony, is to reflect, at least,
if not immediately to shed, a hght on all the other
portions of it. The doctrine of our acceptance, by
faith in the merits and propitiation of Christ, is
worthy of many a treatise, and many are the pre-
cious treatises upon it which have been offered to
the world. But the doctrine of regeneration, by the
Spirit of Christ, equally demands the homage of a
separate lucubration — which may proceed on the
truth of the former, and, by the incidental recogni-
tion of it, when it comes naturally in the way of the
author's attention, marks the soundness and the
settlement of his mind thereupon, more decisively
than by the dogmatic, and ostentatious, and often
misplaced asseverations of an ultra orthodoxy. And
the clearer revelation to the eye of faith of one arti-
cle, will never darken or diminish, but will, in fact,

XIV

throw back the light of an augmented evidence on
every other article. Like any object that is made up
of parts, which we have frequently looked to in their
connection, and as making up a whole — the more
distinctly one part of it is made manifest, the more
forcibly will all the other parts of it be suggested
to the mind. And thus it is, that when pressing
home the necessity of one's own holiness, as his in-
dispensable preparation for heaven, we do not dis-
sever his mind from the atonement of Christ, but in
reality do we fasten it more closely than ever on the
necessity of another's righteousness, as his indispen-
sable plea for heaven.

Such we apprehend to be the genuine influence
of a Treatise that is now submitted anew to the
Christian pubHc. It certainly does not abound in
formal and direct avowals of the righteousness which
is by faith, and on this account we have heard it
excepted against. But we know of no reading that
is more powerfully calculated to shut us up unto the
faith — none more fitted to deepen and to strengthen
the basis of a sinner's humility, and so reconcile him
to the doctrine of salvation in all its parts, by grace
aJone — none that, by exhibiting the height and per-
fection of Christian attainments, can better serve the
end of prostrating the inquirer into the veriest depths
of self-abasement, when, on the humbling compari-
son of what he is, with what he ought to be, he is
touched and penetrated by a sense of his manifold
deficiencies. It is on this account that the Author
of such a work may, instrumentally speaking, do the
office of a school-master to brin^ us unto Christ-,

XV

nor do we know at what other time it is, than when
eyeing from afar the lofty track of spiritual and se-
raphic piety which is here delineated, that we more
feel our need of the great High Priest, or that his
peace-speaking blood and his perfect righteousness
are more prized by us.

But it is not enough that we idly gaze on the
heavenly course. We must personally enter it;
and it is most utterly and experimentally untrue,
that, in the prosecution of this walk, we meet with
any thing to darken the principles on which are
made to hinge a sinner's justification in the sight
of God. He who looks most frequently to Christ,
for the purpose of imitation, will also gather most
from him on which to prop his confidence, and that
too on the riffht and evangelical basis. There is a sure
link of concatenation in the processes of divine grace,
by which a growing spiritual discernment is made to
emerge out of a growing conformity to the will and
the image of the Saviour. These two elements act
and re-act the one upon the other. " He that
keepeth my commandments to him will I manifest
myself." " He whose eye is single shall have his
whole body fuU of light."=^ " The Holy Ghost,"
who acts as a revealer, " is given to those who obey
him." " To him who hath, more shall be given."
All proving that there is a procedure in the adminis-

* By singleness of eye here, is meant not a single intentness
of tlie mind upon one truth, but, as is evident from the context,
that singleness of aim after an interest in heaven, which is not
perverted or seduced from its object by the love of a present evil
world.

XVI

tration of divine grace, by which he who giveth
himself up unto all righteousness is guided unto all
truth.

And, it is to be hoped, that while the doctrine
of justification is not argued, but rather enhanced
and recommended by the perusal of such a work, its
own distinct object will be still more directly sub-
served, of leading some to a more strict and separate
devotedness of life, than is often to be met with in
this professing age. The severities of Christian
practice, which are here urged upon the reader, are
in no way allied with the penances and the self-
inflictions of a monastic ritual, but are the essentials
of spiritual discipline in all ages, and must be under-
gone by every man who is tranformed by the Holy
Ghost from one of the children of this world to one
of the children of light. The utter renunciation of
self — the surrender of all vanity — the patient endur-
ance of evils and wrongs — the crucifixion of natural
and worldly desires — the absorption of all our in-
terests and passions in the enjoyment of God — and
the subordination of all we do, and of all we feel,
to his glory, — these from the leading virtues of
our pilgrimage, and in the very proportion of their
rarity, and their painfulness, are they the more effec-
tual tests of our regeneration. And one of the
main uses of this book is, that while it enforces these
spiritual graces in all their extent, it lays open the
spiritual enjoyment that springs from the cultivation
of them — revealing the hidden charm which lies in
godliness, and demonstrating the sure though secret
alliance which obtains between the peace of heaven in

XVll

the soul, and patience under all the adversities of the
path which leads to it. It exposes alike the suffer-
ino-s and the delights which attach to a life of sacred-
ness : and its wholesome tendency is to reconcile the
aspirant after eternal life, to the whole burden of
that cross on earth which he must learn to bear with
submission and cheerfulness, until he exchanges it
in heaven for a crown of glory. Such a work may
be of service in these days of soft and silken profes-
sorship,— to arouse those who are at ease in Zion ;
to remind them of the terms of the Christian disci-
pleship, as involving a Hfe of conflict, and watchful-
ness, and much labour; to make them jealous of
themselves, and jealous of that evil nature, the power
of which must be resisted, but from the besetting
presence of which we shall not be conclusively deliv-
ered, until death shall rid us of a frame-work, the
moral virus of which may be kept in check while we
live, but cannot be eradicated by any process short
of dissolution.

T. C.

Glasgow, April, IS^^.

CONTENTS.

Page

Translator's Preface, 2o

Some Account of Thomas a Kempis, ... 59

BOOK FIRST.

PREPARATORY INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE
SPIRITUAL LIFE.

CHAP. L Of the Contempt of Worldly Vanities, . 63
CHAP. II. Of Humility with respect to intellectual At-
tainments, 65

CHAP. III. Of the Knowledge of the Truth, . . 67

CHAP. IV. Of Prudence with respect to our Opinions

and Actions, 70

CHAP. V. Of Reading the Scriptures and other Holy

Books, 72

CHAP. VL Of Inordinate Affections, .... 73

CHAP. VII. Of Vain Hope, and Elation of Mind, . 71

CHAP. VIII. Of avoiding the familiar Intercourses of

the World, 7.5

CHAP. IX. Of Subjection and Obedience, ... 76

CONTENTS.

CHAP. X. Of Superfluous Talking,

CHAP. XT. Of true Peace of Mind, and Zeal for Spiri

tual Improvement,

CHAP. XII. Of the Benefit of Adversity,

CHAP. XIII. Of Resisting Temptations,

CHAP. XIV. Of avoiding rash Judgment,

CHAP. XV. Of Works of Charity,

CHAP. XVI. Of bearing the Infirmities of others,

CHAP. XVIT. Of a Recluse Life,

CHAP. XVIII. Of the Examples of the Holy Fathers,

CHAP. XIX. Of Religious Exercises, .

CHAP. XX. Of Solitude and Silence, . •

CHAP. XXI. Of Compunction of Heart,

CHAP. XXII. Of the Consideration of Human Misery,

CHAP. XXIII. Of the Meditation of Death,

CHAP. XXIV. Of the Last Judgment, and the Punish

ment of Sinners,

CHAP. XXV. Of Zeal in the Total Reformation of

Life,

Page
78

79

82

83

87

89

90

92

93

96

100

104

107

110

BOOK SECOND.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MORE INTIMATE
ENJOYMENT OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE.

CHAP. I. Of Internal Conversation,

CHAP. II. Of humble Submission to Reproof and Shami

CHAP. III. Of Peacefulness, ....

CHAP. IV. Of Simplicity and Purity, .

CHAP. V. Of Personal Attention,

CHAP. VL Of the Joy of a Good Conscience,

CONTENTS. XXI

Page
CHAP. VIT. Of the Love of Jesus above all, . . 143

CHAP. VIII. Of the Friendship of Jesus, . . 144

CHAP. IX. Of the Disconsolate State, . . .148

CHAP. X. Of true Thankfulness for the Grace of God, 152
CHAP. XI. Of the small number of those that love the

Cross, l'5-5

CHAP. XII. Of the Necessity of bearing the Cross, . lo7

BOOK THIRD.

OF DIVINE ILLUMINATION.

CHAP. I. Of the Blessedness of Internal Conversation
with Christ, 16"

CHAP. II. That Christ, who is the Truth, speaketh to
the Soul, without the Sound of Words ; that his In-
structions are to be heard with Humility ; and that
many regard them not, 169

CHAP. III. The Soul imploring the Influence of Grace,
is instructed to walk before God in Humility and Truth, 173

CHAP. IV. Of the Power of Divine Love, . . .176

CHAP. V. Of the Trial of True Love, . . , .180

CHAP. VI. That the Soul must not despair under the
Infirmities of Nature, and the Suggestions of Evil
Spirits, 181

CHAP. VII. Of concealing the Grace of Devotion under
the Veil of Humility, 184

CHAP. VIII. That all things are to be referred to God,
as the ultimate End ; and that the Service of God is
the highest Honour, and the most perfect Freedom, 189

XXU CONTENTS.

Page
CHAP. IX. That the good Desires of the Heart are to

be carefully examined and regulated ; and the Evil

subdued by continual Resistance, . . . .193

CHAP. X. Of meek Obedience, after the Example of

Jesus Christ; and of the awful Consideration of the

Divine Judgments, as a Motive to an humble Opinion

of ourselves and our state in Grace, . . . .198
CHAP. XI. That our Desires must be expressed in

Terms of absolute Resignation to the Divine Will, . 201
CHAP. XII. That true Comfort is to be found only in

God, 203

CHAP. XIII. That in Conformity to the Example of

Christ, the Miseries of this fallen Life are to be borne

■with Patience and Resignation, 206

CHAP. XIV. Of Personal Infirmity, and tlie Miseries of

the Present Life, 210

[CHAP. XV.] That the Soul must seek her Repose only

in God, 213

CHAP. XV. That God always heareth the Prayer of the

Humble, 214

CHAP. XVI. Of the thankful Remembrance of the ma-
nifold Mercies of God, 217

CHAP XVII. Of four Steps that lead to Liberty and

Peace, 220

CHAP. XVIII. Of avoiding a curious Inspection into

the Conduct of others, 223

CHAP. XIX. In what true Peace of Mind and Spiritual

Perfection consist. 224

CHAP. XX. That Self-love is the chief obstruction to

the Attainment of the Supreme Good, . . . 228

CHAP. XXI. That the perverse Judgments and cruel

Censures of Men are not to be regarded, . . .231
CHAP. XXII. Of Submission to God in the Hour of

Tribulation, and Confidence in returning Grace, . 233

CONTENTS. XXlll

Page

CHAP. XXIII. That the Creator is to be found in Ab-
straction from the Creatures, 236

CHAP. XXIV. Of Self-denial, and the Renunciation of
Animal Desire, 2^39

CHAP. XXV. Of the Instability of tlic Heart ; and of
directing the Intention to God alone, . . . .241

CHAP. XXVI. That the Soul which loves God, enjoys
him in all thinj^s, and above ail; and in him findeth
Peace, 242

CHAP. XXVII. Against the Fear of 3Ian, ... 246

CHAP. XXVIII. That perfect Freedom can only be ob-
tained by a total Surrender of Self-will, . . . 248

CHAP. XXIX. Of Self-government in the Concerns of
the present Life, and of having Recourse to God in all
its Difficulties and Dangers, 2-50

CHAP. XXX. Against Anxiety and Impetuosity in the
Concerns of the World, 2-51

CHAP. XXXI. That, in Man, there is no Good; and
that, therefore, he has nothing in which to Glory, . 253

CHAP. XXXII. Of the Contempt of all Temporal Ho-
nour, and the Renunciation of all human Comfort, . 265

CHAP. XXXIII. Of the Vanity of Human Learning, . 258

CHAP. XXXIV. Of Disengagedness from the Business
of the World, and the Opinions of Men, . . . 260

CHAP. XXXV. Of Credulity in the Promises and Pro-
fessions of 3Ien, 261

CHAP. XXXVI. Of Confidence in the Righteous Judg-
ment of God, under the various Accusations of Men, . 265

CHAP. XXXVII. That all the Aftlictions of the present
State are to be patiently endured for the Hope of Eter-
nal Life, 268

CHAP. XXXVIII. Of the Desire of Eternal Life ; and
the great Blessedness that is promised to those who re-
solutely strive to obtain it, 272

XXIV CONTENTS.

Page

[CHAP. XXXVIII.] Of the Resignation of a desolate
Spirit to the Will of God, 278

CHAP. XXXIX. That -^hen we find ourselves incapable
of the higher Exercises of Devotion, we should with
Humility practise the lower; and account ourselves
rather worthy of Affliction than Comfort, . . . 282

CHAP. XL. That the Grace of God dwells not with
those that love the World, 2S6

CHAP. XLI. Of the Different Characters and Operations
of Nature and Grace, 288

CHAP. XLII. That we must deny ourselves, take up tlie
Cross of Christ, and follow him, 297

CHAP. XLIII. Against extravagant Dejection, upon
being sometimes betrayed by Human Weakness, . 300

CHAP. XLIV. Against the vain and presumptuous In-
quiries of Reason into Subjects that are above the
Comprehension of the Natural Man, . . . 303

CHAP. XLV. That all Hope and Confidence is to be
placed in God alone, 3U8

THE

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

As " The Christian's Pattern," by Dean Stanhope,
has claimed a place among the translations of this
excellent Book, and by an implicit admission has
obtained general approbation; it will undoubtedly
be asked, what occasion there was for attempting a
new one ? And to this question, no other answer,
as an apology for the translation that is now offered
to the public, can be given, than that it was at-
tempted in the hope of doing some justice to the
sense of the original, which is almost lost in the
loose paraphrasxe of Dean Stanhope, and almost de-
prived of its spirit by the literal and inelegant exact-
ness of others.

With what degree of success this attempt has
been prosecuted, must be left wholly to the judg-
ment of the reader. It is hoped, however, that,
where the original allowed of some latitude in the
translation, no sense is introduced, that will not be
found coincident with the Author's great principle,
" The necessity of exchanging an earthly for a
heavenly nature;'* and that an apology will not be
requu-ed for giving the preference, in several in-
B 1

26

stances of competition, to some apposite passage in
the Divine Oracles, as the best illustration of the
thought, and most forcible manner of expressing it.
As this preference has been given wherever an occa-
sion was supposed to offer, the quotations from the
Sacred Scriptures arc more numerous than they are
in the original : and though all the quotations in the
original are taken from the Vulgate Bible, yet here
they are generally taken from our English Bible ;
and the Vulgate is seldom retained, but where the
force of the Author's sentiment depended upon the
peculiar turn given to that translation.

In the third book of " The Imitation of Christ,'*
the division and the titles of the chapters are differ-
ent, not only from all the translations, but from all
the editions of the original that have been consulted
upon this occasion, except the late Paris edition,
published by M. J. Valart; which, as it is declared
to have been formed upon an accurate collation of
manuscripts and old printed copies, and, in conse-
quence of that collation, purified from more than six
hundred errors, has been chosen as the standard with
respect to this translation.

Of the book itself, it will be difficult to show the
excellency and use, to those that have no sense of
spiritual devotion, and unnecessary to those that
have. The numerous editions of the original, how-
ever, and the numerous translations of it into the
different languages of all the nations professing
Christianity, whether as Protestants or Papists, that
have been continually published for near three hun-
dred years, is a testimony of approbation, of which

27

few human compositions can boast ; and which the
advocates for hbertinism, though they may pretend
to despise it, cannot but secretly venerate.

But, besides the professors and patrons of pro-
fane wit and unrestrained pleasure, there are some
sober minds, who, because they live in a nation
where Christianity is professed, have assumed the
character of Christians ; and being perfectly pleased
with themselves, and satisfied with following the
regular rotation of formal duties, are offended at
every attempt to convince them, that "there is
something still needful," of much higher importance
than the most minute conformity to the ceremonials
of external worship. They have also assumed the
character of Protestants — an honourable character,
if formed upon Christian principles, and supported
with a Christian spirit ! — and wdien motives to the
attainment of a divine life urged by a Roman Ca-
tholic, are offered to their consideration, their dis-
pleasure is heightened ; and the offer is rejected not
only with indignation, but with a dread of all the
evils which they have been used to associate with
the idea of a Roman Cathohc. Like those of old,
who asked, " if any thing good could come out of
Nazareth," they are ready to exclaim, " can pre-
cepts of truth and hohness proceed from the cell of
a monk?" And no less danger is apprehended,
than of being artfully betrayed into the trammels
of a spiritual director ; or artfully worked up to such
a rage of ill humour with themselves and the world,
as to be driven into the irremeable gate of a cloister.

The Author of this book had no design that ter-
b2

28

minates in any of the changeable forms and perishing
interests of the present hfe. As a Roman CathoHc,
he has himself performed the office of a spiritual
director; and it is to bring and leave his disciple,
where he leaves himself, under the conduct of the
Only Guide to life, light, holiness, and peace, the
Spirit of God. In his own person he makes this
address : " O God, who art the Truth, make me
one with thee in everlasting love ! I am often weary
of reading, and weary of hearing ; in thee alone is
the sum of my desires. Let all teachers be silent;
let the whole creation be dumb before thee ; and do
thou only speak unto my soul !"* And in another
place, in the character of that disciple of whom he
has been the director, he says ; " Speak, Lord, for
thy servant heareth. Let not Moses speak to me,
nor any of the prophets. But do thou, O Lord my
God, Eternal Truth ! speak to my soul ; lest, being
only outwardly warned, but not inwardly quickened,
I die, and be found unfruitful ; lest the Word heard
and not obeyed, known and not loved, professed and
not kept, turn to my condemnation ! Speak, there-
fore. Lord, for thy servant heareth : thou only hast
the Words of Eternal Life ! O speak to the com-
fort of my soul, to the renovation of my heavenly
nature, and to the eternal praise and glory of thy
own holy Name !"f

As a Roman Catholic also, he had renounced
tlic world and devoted his time and attention to

* Book T. chap. iii. sect, 3.
t Book III. chap ii. sect. 2, 3.

29

the purification of his spirit in the retirement of a
cloister; and even in a cloister, he frequently de-
plores the worldly and sensual life of many that were
immured with him ; and directs man to a more sacred
retirement, his own heart, to discover the evil of his
fallen nature, and the manifestations of that divine
power which is his only redemption from it. It is
the renunciation of the spirit of the world, and a
continual dependance upon the Spirit of God, as
the principle of all truth and goodness, that are the
duties he enjoins, and the perfection he requires ;
and if this perfection is attained in the midst of the
tumultuous scenes of life, it can suffer no abatement,
because it was not attained in the retirement of a
cloister. What he sought himself in a state of re-
tirement, he tells us in these words : " It is not the
pecuHar habit, the tonsure, or any alteration merely
external, but a change of heart, and an entire mor-
tification of the passions, that are the indispensable
qualifications for such a state ; and he that seeks any
thing in it, but the glory of God in the purification
of his own soul, will meet only with disappointment
and trouble, anxiety and remorse."*

Retirement into a cloister, is not a precept of the
Christian faith ; but the renunciation of the world,
is one of its essential duties ; and universally en-
joined, as an indispensable condition of becoming
faithful followers of Him, who, as our Exemplar, as
well as our Redeemer, had himself renounced and
overcome the world : and if this duty had been uni-

• Book T. chap. xviL sect. 2.

30

versally fulfilled by those who have assumed the sa-
cred character of his faithful followers, retirement
into a cloister would never have been known.

But we are to consider, what has been the state
of Christianity since it became national; and how
deplorably all Christian nations have fallen from the
spirit and power of the gospel of Christ. What
has any Christian nation ever aimed at, but an emu-
lation of the wealth and splendour, the pohcy, the
luxury, the refined vanity, the pride, pomp, and
power of Pagan Greece and Rome? What does
any Christian nation now seek, but even to outdo
Pagan Greece and Rome, in all the frantic excesses
of a worldly spirit ; devoting all the faculties of an
immortal soul, and all the short time of its probation
for eternity, to the diversification of the scenes of
sensual pleasure, or to the accumulation of poisonous
riches, which become proportionably more deadly the
more they are collected and engrossed ; violating the
sacred obligations of justice and charity, to seize
each other's possessions: and calKng in the aid of
hell, to secure the plunder with every murdering
engine of war? Now he, who, in such a state of
Christianity, labours to fulfil the precept, and follow
the example of his Redeemer, in the renunciation
and conquest of the world, will find, that he must
labour in an abstraction, not less painful in itself,
nor less unfriendly to worldly interests, than retire-
ment into a cloister, in whatever formidable light his
imagination may have painted it.

If we did not know what men may do and say,
with the gospel in their hands, and the Sun of

31

Righteousness still shedding his vital hcams upon
them, we should wonder, that those who at their
baptism, have " solemnly renounced the world, the
flesh, and the devil," and who, in the pubHc service
of the church, hear the 'precepts of their Redeemer,
"to overcome the world, deny themselves, take up
their daily cross, and follow him ;" and, in the use
of its liturgy, repeat the most earnest prayers for
" the continual influences of the Holy Spmt, to
enable them to fulfil those precepts, because they
cannot do it by their own strength," — we should
wonder, that such persons should be the most violent
in exclaiming against books like this, as the ravings
of enthusiasm, or the dreams of monkish ignorance,
because they call men to " the renunciation of the
world, self-denial, watchfulness, and prayer, and to a
continual unreserved dependence upon the illuminat-
ing and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit."

The Author had a profound knowledge of the
spiritual life ; such as is not to be acquired but by
a mind truly devoted, and long inured, to spiritual
exercises. He stops not at calling men to the re-
nunciation of the world, self-denial, watchfulness,
and prayer; but leads them on to that naked faith,
absolute resignation, and pure love, which are the
strength and beauty of the regenerate nature — the
nature that can alone enter into heaven, because it
comes out of heaven; that can alone love, desire, and
unite i|^th God, because it is born of God. His
instructions, therefore, are founded upon this great
principle, which is also the foundation of the precepts
of the gospel — that "man has lost the di\ine life

32

born of God, and is fallen into an earthly, animal,
and sensuaJ life of this world; a life of darkness,
impurity, impotence, and misery; which must be
abandoned, that his first divine life may be regene-
rated in him by the operation of the Holy Ghost."
And as it would be in vain to offer such instructions,
to those who think they do not want them ; so it is
in vain, that Christ once preached to men himself,
and has continued preaching to them by his Holy
Spirit, while they shun, or disguise, or misapply
every thing, that would bring them to a sense of the
darkness, impurity, impotence, and misery, of their
life in this world.

Men, in their fallen state, are destitute of happi-
ness, restless and insatiable in their desires of it ; and
always seeking it, where it cannot possibly be found,
in themselves and their earthly life; and men, in
these days of fallen Christianity, are only in a better
state, because some real though alienated goodness
is produced, by the efforts of that divine life, which
is struggling for redemption within them. They
know, their Master has declared, that "there is
but One who is good, and that is God:" and yet,
they know not, or will not know, that whatever
goodness lives in intelligent natures, from the highest
angel to the lowest of mankind, is solely the mani-
festation of the presence and power of Him, who
alone is good. All the light and goodness, there-
fore, which the mercy of God, notwithstantjing their
repugnancy, still preserves within them as their call
to heaven, they arrogate as the light of human reason,
and the attainments of human virtue ; and confiding

33

wholly in themselves, and contented with the forms
of godliness instead of the power, they stifle the
sense of their inherent darkness, impurity, impo-
tence, and misery, by mingling in the cares and
pleasures of a vain and busy world. But they are
questions that deser^^e the most serious considera-
tion, whether Christ is not the Saviour of men, only
by being formed within them as the living power of
knowing and fulfilling the will of God : and whether
those that reject him as this inward Saviour, who
alone, by the manifestation of his own nature, Hfe
and spirit, in the soul, can transform selfish, sensual,
proud and mahgnant spirits, into angels of patience,
humility, meekness, purity, and love, and from
" children of wrath," make them " children of the
living God;" reject him less than the Scribes and
Pharisees, who blasphemed, persecuted, and put him
to death.

" Some," says the Author, speaking in the person
of Christ, "place their rehgion in books; some, in
images; and some, in the pomp and splendour of
external worship: these honour me with their Hps,
but their heart is far from me. But there are some,
who, with illuminated understandings, discern the
glory which man has lost, and with pure affections
pant for its recovery : these hear and speak with re-
luctance, of the cares and pleasures of the present
life ; and even lament the necessity of administering
to the wants of animal nature : these hear and un-
derstand what the Holy Spirit speaketh in their
heart; exhortmg them to withdraw their affection
from things on earth, and set it on things above ;
b3

34

to abandon this fallen world, and day and night
aspire after rc-union with God."=^

As the fittest key to unlock the treasures of this
inestimable book, and lay them open to common use,
it may be necessary to show, in general, the ground
and nature of Christian redemption; and it can
scarcely be done with more power of conviction,
than in the foUowincj extracts from the writin^^s of
a great divine, whose name is not mentioned, be-
cause names have been known to endear error, and to
keep the eye shut from the sight of truth.

The fall of man into the life and state of this
world, is the whole ground of his redemption ; and
a real birth of Christ in the soul, is the whole nature
of it. To convince man of his fall as the ground
of his redemption, it is not necessary to appeal to
the history which Moses has given of it; because
Moses' history of the fall is not the proof of it, and
because a mere historical knowledge of the fall
would not do man any real good. Moses has re-
corded the death of the first man, and of many of
his descendants; but the proof that man is mortal,
lies not in Moses' history, but in the known nature
of man, and the world from which he has his life.
Thus, though Moses has recorded the time and
manner of the fall, yet there is no more occasion to
have recourse to his history to prove it, than to
prove that man is " a poor, vain, distressed, corrupt,
depraved, selfish, self-tormenting, perishing crea-
ture; and that the world is a sad mixture of ima-

• Book III. chap. iii. sect. 8.

35

ginary good, and real evil, a mere scene of vanity,
vexation, and misery !" This is the known nature
and condition both of man and the world ; and every
man is in himself an irresistible proof that he is in
a fallen state. An attempt, therefore, to convince
man of his fall, as the ground of his redemption,
must be an attempt to do that which misfortunes,
sickness, pain, and the approach of death, have a
natural tendency to do, to convince him of the vanity,
poverty, and misery, of his life and condition in this
world; and how impossible it is, that a God, who
has nothing in himself but infinite goodness and
infinite happiness, should bring forth a race of in-
telligent creatures, that have neither natural good-
ness, nor natural happiness.

Man, in his first state, as he came forth from
God, must have been absolutely free from all va-
nity, want, or distress, of any kind, from any thing
either within or without him : a god-like perfection
of nature, and a painful distressed nature, stand in
the utmost contrariety to one another. But man
has lost his first divine life in God : every thing that
we know of God, and every thing that we know of
man, of his birth, his life, and death, is a continual
irresistible proof that man is in a fallen state. The
human infant just come out of the womb, is a pic-
ture of such deformity, nakedness, weakness, and
helpless distress, as is not to be found amongst the
home-born animals of this world. The chicken has
its birth from no sin, and, therefore, comes forth in
beauty; it runs and pecks, as soon as its shell is
broken : the calf and the lamb go both to play as

36

soon as the dam is delivered of them; they are
pleased with themselves, and please the eye that be-
holds their frolicsome state, and beauteous clothinof :
whilst the new-born babe of a woman, that is to
have an upright form — that is to view the heavens,
and worship the God that made them, lies, for
months, in gross ignorance, weakness, and impurity;
as sad a spectacle when he first breathes the life of
this world, as when in the agonies of death he
breathes his last. What is all this, but the stroncp-
est proof, that man is the only creature that belongs
not to this world, but is fallen into it through sin ;
and that, therefore, his birth, in such distress, bears
al] these marks of shame and weakness ? Had he
been originally of this world, this world would have
done the highest honour to its highest creature ; and
he must have begun his hfe in greater perfection
than any other animal, and brought with him a more
beautiful clothing than the finest lilies of the field.
But when the human infant has at length acquired
strength, and begins to act for himself, he soon be-
comes a more pitiable object than when crying in the
cradle. " The strength of his hfe, is a mere
strength of wild passions; his reason is craft and
selfish subtlety; he loves and hates only as flesh
and blood prompt him ; and jails and gibbets cannot
keep him from theft and murder. If he is rich, he
is tormented with pride and ambition ; if poor, with
want and discontent : be he which he will, sooner or
later, disordered passions, disappointed lusts, fruit-
less labour, pains and sickness, will tear him from
this world, in such travail as his mother felt, when

37

she broufrht forth the sinful animal." Now all this
evil and misery are tlie natural and necessary effects
of his birth in the bestial flesh and blood of this
world; and there is nothing in his natural state,
that can put a stop to it ; he must be evil and miser-
able as long as he has only the hfe of this world in
him. Therefore, the absolute certainty of man's
fall, and the absolute necessity of a new birth to
redeem him, are truths, independently of Scripture,
plain to a demonstration.

No creature can come from the hands of God,
into a state of any ignorance of any thing that is
proper to be known by it; this is as impossible, as
for God to have an envious or evil will. Now aU
right and natural knowledge, in whatever creature
it is, is sensible, intuitive, and its own evidence;
and opinion, reasoning, or doubting, can only then
begin, when the creature has lost its first right and
natural state, and is got somewhere, and become
somewhat, that it cannot tell what to make of.
Reasoning, doubt, and perplexity, in any creature,
are the effect of some fall or departure from its first
state of nature; and show, that it wants, and is
seeking, something that belongs to its nature, but
knows not how to come at it. The beasts seek not
after truth ; a plain proof, that it has no relation to
them, no suitableness to their nature, nor ever be-
longed to them. Man is in quest of it, in perplexity
about it, cannot come at it ; takes lies to be truth,
and truth to be lies : a plain proof both that he has
it not, and yet has had it ; was created in it, and for
it : for " no creature can seek for any thing, but

38

that which has been lost, and is wanted; nor could
man form the least idea of it, but because it has be-
longed to him, and ought to be his."

Now suppose man to come into the world, with
this chief difference from other creatures, that he is
at a loss to find out what he is, how he is to live,
and what he is to seek as his chief happiness ; what
he is to own of a God, of providence, religion, &c.
suppose him to have faculties that put him upon
this search, and no faculties that can satisfy his in-
quiry ; and what can we suppose more miserable in
himself, and more unworthy of a good Creator?
Therefore, if we will not suppose, that God has
been good to all creatures, and given every animal
its proper light of nature, except man, we must be
forced to own, that man has lost the true Hght and
perfection of his nature, which God at first gave
him.

God is, in himself, infinite truth, infinite good-
ness, and infinite happiness : but man, in his present
earthly birth and life, has neither truth, goodness,
nor happiness: therefore, his present state of life
could not be brought forth by that God who is all
truth, goodness, and happiness. Thus every man
that believes in a Creator infinitely perfect, is under
a necessity of believing the whole ground of Chris-
tian redemption; namely, that man has lost that
perfection of life which he had at first from his
Creator.

Had not a divine life at first been in man, he
would be now at the same distance from truth and
goodness, and as incapable of forming the least

39

thought or desire of them, as the beasts of the field ;
and would have notliing to do, but to look to him-
self, live to his earthly nature, and make the most
oF this world : for this is all the wisdom and good-
ness, that an earthly nature is capable of, whether it
be a man or a fox. The certainty of the fact, of
man's first divine life, is all ; nothing more need be
inquired after; for on this ground stands all his
comfort : hence it is, that in faith and hope he can
look up to God as his father, to heaven as his native
country, and on himself as a stranger and a pilgrim
upon earth.

For it is a certain truth, that fallen, earthly, and
corrupt, as human nature is, there is, in the soul of
every man, the fire, and light, and love of God,
thoufi^h lodcped in a state of hiddenness and inacti-
vity, till something human or divine, distress or
grace, or both, discover its life within us.

We were no more created to be in the sorrows,
burdens, and anguish, of this earthly life, than the
angels were created to be in the wrath and darkness
of hell : it is as contrary to the will and goodness of
God towards us, that we are out of paradise, as it is
contrary to the designs and goodness of God towards
the angels, that some of them are out of heaven,
prisoners of darkness. How absurd and even blas-
phemous would it be, to say, with the church and
the Scriptures, that " we are children of wrath, and
born in sin," if we had that nature which God at
first gave us ? AVhat a reproach upon God, to say,
that this world is a valley of misery, a shadow of
death, full of disorders, sorrows, and temptations, if

40

this was an original creation, or that state of things
for which God created us ? Is it not as consistent
with the goodness of God, to speak of the misery
and disorder that holy angels find ahove, and of the
sorrows and vanity of their heavenly state, as to
speak of the misery of men, and the sorrows and
vanity of this world, if men and the world were in
that order, in which God at first had placed them ?
If God could make any place poor and vain, and
create any beings into a state of vanity and vexation
of spirit, he might do so in all places, and to all
beings.

" The fall of man, therefore, into the Hfe of this
earthly world, is the sole ground of his wanting the
redemption which the gospel offers." Hence it is,
that the gospel has only one simple proposal of cer-
tain life, or certain death, to man : of life, if he will
take the means of entering into the kingdom of God;
of death, if he chooses to take up his rest in the
kingdom of this world. This is the simple nature
and sole drift of the gospel : it means no more, than
making known to man, that this world, arid the life
of it, is his fall and separation from God and happi-
ness both here and hereafter ; and that to be saved,
cr restored to God and happiness, can only be ob-
tained by renouncing all love and adherence to the
things of this world. " All the precepts, threaten-
ings, and doctrines of the gospel mean nothing, but
to drive all earthly-mindedness and carnal affections
out of the soul; to call man from the life, spirit,
and goods of this world, to a life of faith and hope,
and love, and desire, of a new birth from Heaven.'*

41

To embrace tlie gospel, is to enter, with all our
hearts, into its terms of dying to all that is earthly,
both within us, and without us : and, on the other
hand, to place our faith, and hope, and trust, and
satisfaction, in the things of this world ; is to reject
the gospel with our whole heart, spirit, and strength,
as much as any Infidel can do, notwithstanding we
make ever so many verbal assents to every thing
that is recorded in the New Testament.

This, therefore, is the one, true essential dis-
tinction between the Christian and the Infidel. The
Infidel is a man of this world ; wholly devoted to it ;
his hope and faith are set upon it; for where our
heart is, there, and there only, are our hope and
faith : he has only such a virtue, such a goodness,
and such a religion, as entirely suits with the in-
terests of flesh and blood, and keeps the soul happy
in " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and
the pride of life." This, and this alone, is Infidel-
ity; a total separation from God, and a removal of
all faith and hope from him, into the fife of this
world. It matters not, whether this Infidel be a
professor of the gospel, a disciple of Zoroaster, a fol-
lower of Plato, a Jew, a Turk, or an opposer of the
gospel history: this difference of opinions or pro-
fessions, alters not the matter; it is the love of the
word instead of God, that constitutes the whole
nature of the Infidel.

On the other hand, the Christian renounces the
world as his horrid prison; he dies to the will of
flesh and blood, because it is darkness, corruption,
and separation from God ; he turns from all that is

42

earthly, animal, and temporal, and stands in a con-
tinual tendency of faith, and hope, and prayer to
God, to have a better nature, a better life and spirit,
born again into him from above.

Where this faith is, there is the Christian, the
" new creature in Christ, born of the Word and
Spirit of God :" neither time nor place, nor any out-
ward condition of birth and life, can hinder his en-
trance into the kingdom of God. But where this
faith is not, there is the true complete Infidel, " the
man of the earth," the unredeemed, the rejecter of
the gospel, " the son of perdition," that is, " dead
in trespasses and sins, without Christ, an alien from
the commonwealth of Israel, a stranger to the cove-
nants of promise, having no hope, and without God
in the world."

•^ Men are apt to consider a worldly spirit only as
an infirmity, or pardonable failure ; but it is, indeed,
the great apostacy from God and the divine Hfe : it
is not a single sin, but the whole nature of all sin ;
that leaves no possibility of coming out of our fallen
state, till it be totally renounced with all the strength
of our hearts.

Our Lord says, " there is but one that is good,
and that is God." In the same strictness of ex-
pression it must be said, " there is but One hfe
that is good, and that is the life of God and hea-
ven :" depart, in the least degree, from the goodness
of God, and you depart into evil; because nothing
is good, but his goodness. Choose any life, but
the life of God and heaven, and you choose death ;
for death is nothing else but the loss of the life of

43

God. The creatures of this world have but one
life, and one good ; and that is the Ufe of this world :
eternal beings have but one life, and one good ; and
that is the life of God. The spirit of the soul is in
itself nothing else but a spirit breathed forth from
God, that the life of God, the nature of God, the
working of God, the tempers of God, might be
manifested in it. God could not create man to
have a wtU of his own, and a life of his own, differ-
ent from the life and will that is in himself; this is
more impossible, than for a good tree to bring forth
corrupt fruit : God can only delight in his own life,
his own goodness, and his own perfections; and
therefore cannot love, or delight, or dwell, in any
creatures, but where his own goodness and perfec-
tions are to be found : like can only unite with like,
heaven with heaven, and hell with hell ; and, there-
fore the life of God must be the hfe of the soul, if
the soul is to unite with God. Hence it is, that
all the religion of fallen man, all the methods of our
redemption, have, only this one end, to take from us
that strange and earthly life we have gotten by the
fall, and to kindle again the life of God and heaven
in our souls : not to deliver us from that gross and
sordid vice called covetousness, which Heathens can
condemn ; but to take the spirit of this world entirely
from us.

This spirit is the whole nature and misery of our
fall : it keeps our souls in a state of death ; and, as
long as it governs, makes it impossible for us to be
<' born again from above." It is the greatest blind-
ness and darkness of our nature, and keeps us in the

44

grossest ignorance both of heaven and hell ; for
though they are both of them within us, yet we feel
neither, while the spirit of this world reigns in us.
Light, and truth, and the gospel, so far as they con-
cern eternity, are all empty sounds to the worldly
spirit : his own good, and his own evil, govern all
his hopes and fears ; and, therefore, he can have no
religion, or be farther concerned in it, than so far as
it can be made serviceable to the life of this world ;
he can know nothing of God; for he can know
nothing, feel nothing, taste nothing, delight in no-
thing, but with earthly senses, and after an earthly
manner. " The natural man," saith the apostle,
" receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; they
are foolishness unto him : he cannot know them, be-
cause they are spiritually discerned;" that is, they
can only be discerned by that spirit, which he hath
not: he can only contemplate them, as things fo-
reign to himself; as so many changeable ideas, which
he receives from books, or hearsay, and which be-
come a bad nourishment of all his natural tempers :
he is proud of his ability to discourse about them,
and loses all humility, all love of God and man,
through a vain and haughty contention for them.
He stands at the same • distance from a Hving per-
ception of the truth, as the man that is born bUnd,
does from a living perception of light: light must
first be the birth of his own life, before he can enter
into a real knowledge of it.

" The measure of our life, is the measure of our
knowledge ; and as the spirit of our life worketh, so
the spirit of our understanding conceiveth." If our

45

will worketh with God, though our natural capacity
be ever so mean and narrow, we get a real knowledge
of God, and heavenly truths; for every thing must
feel that, in which it lives. But if our will worketh
with Satan, and the spirit of this world, let our parts
be ever so bright, our imaginations ever so soaring;
yet all our living knowledge can go no higher or
deeper, than the mysteries of iniquity, and the lusts
of flesh and blood. For nothing feels, or tastes, or
understands, or likes, or dislikes, but the life that is
in us ; the spirit that leads our life, is the spirit that
forms our understanding. The mmd is our eye,
and all the faculties of the mind see every thing ac-
cording to the state the mind is in. If selfish pride
is the spirit of our life, every thing is only seen and
known through this glass ; every thing is dark, sense-
less, and absurd, to the proud man, but that which
brings food to this spirit; he understands nothing,
feels nothing, tastes nothing, but as his pride is made
sensible of it, or capable of being affected with it.
His working will, which is the life of his soul, liveth
and worketh only in the element of pride; and,
therefore, what suits his pride, is his only good;
and w^hat contradicts his pride, is all the evil that he
can feel or know : his wit, his parts, his learning, his
advancement, his friends, his admirers, his successes,
his conquests, all these are the only god and heaven
that he has any living perception of: he indeed can
talk of a Scripture God, a Scripture Christ, and
heaven ; but these are only the ornamental furniture
of his brain, whilst pride is the god of his heart.
We are told, that " God resisteth the proud, and

46

giveth grace to the humble." This is not to be
understood, as if God, by an arbitrary will, only
chose to deal thus with the proud and humble man ,
but the true ground is this : the resistance is on the
part of man. Pride resisteth God, it rejecteth him,
it turneth from him, and chooscth to worship and
adore something else instead of him; whereas, hu-
mility leaveth all for God, falls dowTi before him,
and opens the whole heart to receive him : this is
the only sense, in which " God resisteth the proud,
and giveth grace to the humble." And thus it is
in the true ground of every good and evil that rises
up in us : we have neither good nor evil, but as it
is the natural effect of the working of our own will,
either with, or against God. Consider the state of
him, whose working will is under the power of
wrath; he sees, and hears, and feels, and under-
stands, and talks, wholly from the light and sense
of wrath. All his faculties are only so many facul-
ties of wrath; and he has no sense of knowledge,
but what his enlicrhtened wrath discovers to him.
These instances are sufficient to show, that the state
of our life governs the state of our mind, and forms
the degree and manner of our understanding and
knowledge; and that therefore, there is no possibi-
lity of knowing God and divine truths, till our life
is divine, and wholly dead to the life and spirit of
this world.

The philosophers of old began all their virtue in
a total renunciation of the spirit of this world : they
saw, with the eyes of heaven, that darkness was not
more contrary to light, than the wisdom of this world

47

was contrary to the spirit of \irtue ; therefore, they
allowed of no progress in virtue, but so far as a man
had overcome himself, and the spirit of this world.
This crave a divine soUdity to all their instructions,
and proved them to be masters of true wisdom. But
the doctrine of the cross of Christ, the last, the
highest, the finishing stroke given to the spirit of
this world, that speaks more in one word than all the
philosophy of voluminous writers, is yet professed by
those, who are in more friendship with the world,
than was allowed to the disciples of Pythagoras,
Socrates, Plato, or Epictetus.

Nay, if those ancient sages were to start up
amongst us with their divine wisdom, they would
bid fair to be treated by the sons of the gospel, if
not by some fathers of the church, as dreaming en-
thusiasts. But it is a standing truth, that " the
world can only love its o%vn, and wisdom can only
be justified of her children." The heaven-born
Epictetus, told one of his scholars, that « then he
might first look upon himself, as having made some
true proficiency in virtue, when the world took him
for a fool;" an oracle Hke that, which said, « The
wisdom of this world is foolishness with God."

If it be asked, what is the apostacy of these last
times, or whence is the degeneracy of the present
Christian church ? It is aU the progeny of a worldly
spirit. If here we see open wickedness, there only
foms of godliness ; if here superficial holiness, poli-
tical piety, crafty prudence ; there haughty sanctity,
partial zoal, envious orthodoxy; if, almost every
where, we find a Jewish blindness, and hardness of

48

heart, and the church trading with the gospel, as
visibly as the old Jews bought and sold beasts' in
their temple ; all this is only so many forms and pro-
per fruits of the worldly spirit. This is the great
chain with which the devil enslaves mankind; and
every son of man is held captive in it, till, through
and by the Spirit of Christ, he breaks from it.
Nothing else can deliver him from it ; nothing leaves
the world, nothing renounces it, nothing can possibly
overcome it, but the Spirit of Christ. Hence it is,
that many learned men, with all the rich furniture
of their brain, live and die slaves to the spirit of this
world; and can only differ from gross worldlings, as
the Scribes and Pharisees differed from publicans
and sinners : it is because the Spirit of Christ is not
the one only thing that is the desire of their hearts ;
and, therefore, their learning only works in and with
the spirit of this world, and becomes itself no small
part of the '' vanity of vanities."

«* Nothing does, or can keep God out of the soul,
or hinder his holy union with it, but its desire
turned from him ; for with whatever the will work-
eth, with that only the soul Uveth, whether it be
God or tlie creature; whatever the soul desu-eth,
that is the fuel of its fire ; and as its fuel is, so is
the flame of its life. A will given up to earthly
enjoyments, is at grass with Nebuchadnezzar, and
has one life with the beasts of the field ; for earthly
desires keep up the sa^e life in a man and an ox.
For the one only reason, why the animals of this
world have no sense or knowledge of God, is be-
cause they cannot form any other than earthly de-

49

sires, and so can only have an earthly life: when,
therefore, a man wholly turneth his will to earthly
desires, he dies to the excellency of his natural state,
and may be said only to live, and move, and have
his being, in the life of this world, as the beasts
have. Earthly food, &c. only desired, and used,
for the support of the earthly body, is suitable to
man's present condition, and the order of nature :
but when the desire and delight of the soul are set
upon earthly things, the humanity is degraded, is
fallen from God, and the life of the soul is made as
earthly and bestial, as the life of the body; " for
the creature can neither be higher nor lower, neither
better nor worse, than as its will worketh. What
it desireth, that it taketh ; and of that it eateth and
liveth : wherever, and in whatever, the will chooseth
to dwell and delight, that becometh the soul'^ food,
its condition, its body, its clothing, and habitation.
Nothing doth, nor can, go with a man into heaven,
nothing followeth him into hell, but that in which
the will dwelt, with which it was fed, nourished,
and clothed, in this life. Death can make no al-
teration of this state of the will; it only takes off
the outward, worldly, covering of flesh and blood,
and forces the soul to see, and feel, and know, what
a life, what a state, food, body, and habitation, its
own working will has brought forth for it. Is there,
therefore, any thing in life that deserves a thought,
but how to keep this working of our will in a right
state; and to get that purity of heart, which alone
can see, and know, and find, and possess God ? Is
tlere any thing so frightful as this worldly spirit,
C 1

50

which turns the soul from God ; makes it a house
of darkness ; and feeds it with the food of time, at
the expense of all the riches of eternity ?"

Now as the whole nature of the gospel redemp-
tion means nothing, but the one, true, and only
possible way, of deHvering man from all the evil of
his fall, a fall demonstrable to the senses and un-
derstanding of every man, by every height and depth
of nature, by every kind of evil, sin, and misery in
the world, by every thing he knows of God, himself,
and the world he lives in ; Christianity is not only
the most desirable thino; that the heart of man can
think of, but the most intelligible, and even self-
evident. It requires not the aid of learning for its
support; it stands upon a foundation superior to
human learning, and may be the sure possession of
every plain man, who has sense enough to know,
whether he is happy or unhappy, good or evil. For
this natural knowledge, if adhered to, is every man's
sure guide to that one salvation preached by the
gospel; which gospel stands in no more need of
learning and critical art now, than it did when Christ
was preaching it upon earth. How absurd would
it have been for any critics in Greek and Hebrew,
to have followed Christ and his apostles, as ne-
cessary explainers of their words, which called for
nothing in the hearers, but penitent hearts turned to
God ; and declared, that " they only who were of
God, could hear the word of God !" If none but
learned men have the true fitness to understand the
word of Scripture, and the plain man is to receive
it from them ; how must he know which are the

51

scholars that have the right knowledge ? Whence
is he to have his information ? For no one need be
told, that, ever since learning has borne rule in the
church, learned doctors have contradicted and con-
demned each other, in every essential point of the
Christian doctrine: thousands of learned men tell
the illiterate, they are lost in this or that church;
and thousands of learned men tell them, they are
lost if they leave it. If, therefore, Christianity is
in the hands of scholars, how must the plain man
come at it ? Must he, though unable to understand
Scripture for want of learning, tell which learned
man is in the right, and which is not? If so, the
unlearned man must have far the greatest ability,
since he is to do that for scholars which they cannot
do for themselves.

But Christian redemption is God's mercy to all
mankind; and every fallen man, as such, has a fit-
ness or capacity to lay hold of it. It has no depen-
dence upon times and places, or the ages and several
conditions of the world, or any outward circumstance
of life ; as the first man partook of it, so must the
last: the learned linguist, the blind, the deaf, and
dumb, have but one and the same common way of
finding life in it ; and he that writes large commen-
taries upon the Bible, must be saved by something
full as different from book-knowledge, as he who can
neither read nor write.

For this salvation, which is God's mercy to the

fallen soul of man, merely as fallen, must be some-

thmg that meets every man; and to which every

man, as fallen, has something that directs him to

c2

52

turn. For as the fall of man is the reason of this
mercy, so the fall must be the guide to it : the want
must show the thing that is wanted. And, there-
fore, the manifestation of this one salvation, or
mercy to man, must have a nature suitable, not to
this or that great reader of history, or able critic in
Hebrew roots and Greek phrases, but suitable to
the common state and condition of every son of
Adam : it must be something as grounded in human
nature, as the fall itself is; which wants no art to
make it kno\vn, but to which the common nature of
man is the sure and only guide, in one man as well
as another. Now this something, which is thus
obvious to every man, and which opens the way to
Christian redemption in every soul, is " A sense of
the vanity and misery of this world ; and a prayer of
faith and hope to God, to be raised to a better
state."

In this sense, to which every man's own nature
leads him, lies the whole of man's salvation; here
the mercy of God, and the misery of man, are met
together ; here the fall and the redemption kiss each
other. This is the Christianity which is as old as
the fall; which alone saved the first man, and can
alone save the last. This is it, on which hang all
the law and the prophets, and which fulfils them
both ; for they have only this end, to turn man from
the lusts of this life, to a desire, and faith, and
hope, of a better. Thus does the whole of Chris-
tian redemption, considered on the part of man,
stand in the same degree of nearness and plainness
to all mankind; it is as simple and plain, as the

53

feeling our own evil and misery ; and as natural, as
the desire of being saved and delivered from it.

This desire, and faith, and hope, of a new life
born of God, as our only possible redemption and
salvation, is the spirit of prayer, that is as opposite
to the spirit of this world, as heaven is to hell : the
one goes upwards with the same strength as the
other goes downwards; the one espouses and unites
us to Christ and God, with the same certainty as
the other betroths and weds us to an earthly nature.
The spu'it of prayer is a pressing forth of the soul
out of this earthly life ; it is a stretching, with all its
desire, after the Hfe of God ; it is a leaving, as far
as it can, all its own spirit, to receive a spirit from
above, to be one life, one love, one spirit with
Christ in God. This prayer, which is an emptying
itself of aU its own lusts and natural tempers, and
an opening itself for the light and love of God to
enter into it, is the prayer in " the name of Christ,"
to which nothing is denied ; for the love which God
bears to the soul, his eternal never-ceasing desire
to enter into it, to dwell in it, and open the birth of
his holy word and Spirit in it, stays no longer than
till the heart opens to receive him : for " nothing
does or can keep God out of the soul, or hinder his
holy union with it, but the desire of the heart turned
from him."

What, therefore, is so necessary for man, as
with all his strength, to turn from every thing that
is not God, and his holy will ; and with all the de-
sire, delight, and longing of the heart, to give up
himself wholly to the hfe, hght, and Spirit of God ;

54

pleased with nothing in this world, but as it gives
time, and place, and occasions, of doing and being
that, which his heavenly Father would have him to
do, and be — seeking for no happiness from this
earthly fallen life, but that of overcoming all its spi-
rit and tempers ?

To conclude : in the full and true knowledge of
the greatness of our fall, and the greatness of our
redemption. He all the reasons of a deep humility,
penitence, and self-denial; and also all the motives
and incitements to a most hearty, sincere, and total
conversion to God : and every one is necessarily more
or less a true penitent, and more or less truly con-
verted to God, according as he is more or less deeply
or inwardly sensible of these truths. And till these
two great truths have both awakened and enlightened
our minds, all reformation and pretence to amend-
ment, is but a dead and superficial thing; a mere
garment of hypocrisy, to hide us from ourselves and
others.

Nothing can truly awaken a sinner, but a true
sense of the deep possession and power that sin has
in him. When he sees, that sin begins with his
being, that it rises up in the essences of his nature,
and lives in the first forms of his life ; and that he
lies thus chained and barred up in the very jaws of
death and hell, as unable to alter his own state as to
create another creature ; when, with this knowledge,
he sees that the free grace of God has provided him
a remedy equal to his distress; that he has given
him the holy blood and life of Jesus Christ, the true
Son of God, to enter as deep into his soul as sin

55

hath entered, to change the first forms and essences
of his hfe, and bring forth in them a new birth of a
divine nature, that is to be an immortal image of the
holy Trinity, everlastingly safe, enriched, and blessed,
in the bosom of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; when
a man once truly knows and feels these two truths,
there seems to be no more that you need do for him.
You can teU him of no humility and penitence, or
self-abasement, but what is less than his own heart
suggests to him : humihty can only be feigned or
false, before this conviction: he can now no more
take any degree of good to himself, than assume any
share in the creation of angels ; and all pride or self-
esteem of any kind, seems to him to contain as great
a lie in it, as if he was to say, that he helped to
create himself.

You need not teU him, that he must turn unto
God with " aU his strength, all his heart, all his
soul, and all his spirit;" for all that he can offer
unto God, seems to him already less than the least
of his mercies towards him. He has so seen the
exceeding love of God in the manner and degree of
his redemption, that it would be the greatest pain
to him, to do any thing but upon a motive of divine
love : as his soul has found God to be all love, so it
has but one desire, and that is, to be itself all love
of God.

This is the conviction and conversion that neces-
sarily arises from a right understanding of these
truths : the soul is thereby wholly consecrated to
God ; and can like, or love, or do nothing, but what
it can some way or other turn into a service of love

56

towards him : but where these truths are not known,
or not acknowledged, there it is not to be wondered
at, if rehgion has no root that is able to bring forth
its proper fruits. And if the generality of Chris-
tians are a number of dead, superficial, consenters to
the history of Scripture doctrines; as unwilling to
have the spirit, as to part with the form of their re-
ligion, loath to hear of any kind of self-denial, fond
of worldly ease, indulgence, and riches, unwilling to
be called to the perfection of the gospel, professing
and practising religion merely as the fashion and
custom of the place they are in requires; if some
rest in outward forms, others in a certain orthodoxy
of opinions : if some expect to be saved by the good-
ness of the sect they are of, others by a certain
change of their outward behaviour ; if some content
themselves with a lukewarm spirit, and others de-
pend upon their own works ; these are delusions that
must happen to all, who do not know, in some good
degree, the true nature of their own fallen soul, and
what kind of regeneration alone can save them.

But all these errors, delusions, and false rests,
are cut up by the root, as soon as a man knows the
true reason and necessity of his wanting so great a
Saviour. For he that knows the essences of his
soul to be so many essences of sin, which form sin
as they form his life ; entirely incapable of producing
any good, till a birth from God has arisen in them;
can neither place his redemption where it is not, nor
seek it coolly and neghgently where it is.

For knowing that it is the hell within his own
nature, that only wants to be destroyed, he is intent

57

only upon bringing destruction upon that ; and this
secures him from false religion.

And knowing that this inward heU cannot be de-
stroyed, unless God becomes his Redeemer, or Re-
generator, in the essences of his soul; this makes
him beUeve all, expect all, and hope all, from his
Saviour Jesus Christ alone.

And knowing, that all this redemption, or salva-
tion, is to be brought about in the inmost ground
and depth of his heart; this makes him always ap-
ply to God, as the God of his heart: and therefore,
what he offers to God, is his own heart; and this
keeps him always spiritually alive, wholly employed
and intent upon the true work of religion, the fitting
and preparing his heart for all the operations of God's
holy Spirit upon it. And so he is a true inward
Christian, who, as our blessed Lord speaks, has
" the kingdom of God within him ;" where the state
and habit of his heart continually, thankfully, " wor-
ships the Father in spirit and in truth.'*

SOME ACCOUNT

OP

THOMAS A KEiMPIS.

ThOxMas a Kempis was born in the year 1380, at
Kempis, or Kempen, a small walled town in the duchy
of Cleves, and diocese of Cologn. His family name
was Haraerlein, which signifies, in the German lan-
guage, "a little hammer." His parents were named
John and Gertrude Hamerlein. At thirteen years
of age he began his studies, and about nineteen be-
took himself to a monastery of Augustin monks.
About five and twenty he took the habit of that
house and order. He continued there for the space
of seventy years, particularly eminent for his piety,
humility, diligent study of the holy Scriptures, aus-
terity of life, moving eloquence in discourse, and
extraordinary zeal in prayer. His person was of a
middle stature, of a strong brown complexion, and a
lively piercing eye. His eyesight was so good, and
he retained it so perfect to the last, that he never
was reduced to the use of spectacles. He died,
August 8, 1471, in the ninety-second year of his
age.

He was a canon regular of Augustins, and sub-
prior of Mount St. Agnes' Monastery. He lived

60

chiefly in the monastery of Mount St. Agnes; where
his effigy, together with a prospect of the monastery,
was engraven on a plate of copper that Hcs over his
body. The said monastery is now called Bergh-
Clooster; or, as we might say in English, Hill-
Cloyster : many strangers in their travels visit it.

In the engraving on copper above-mentioned, and
lying over his grave, is represented a person respect-
fully presenting to him a label, on which is written a
verse to this effect :

" O ! where is Peace ? for tliou its paths hast trod."

To which Kempis returns another label, inscribed
as follows :

" In poverty, retirement, and with God,"

Kempis was certainly one of the best and greatest
men since the primitive ages. His book ' Of the Imi-
tation of Christ,' has seen near forty editions in the
original Latin, and above sixty translations have been
made from it into modern languages. He composed
this Treatise in the sixty-first year of his age, as ap-
pears from a note of his own writing in the library of
his convent.

BOOK FIRST.

PREPARATORY INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE
SPIRITUAL LIFE.

:"%,

THE

IMITATION OF CHRIST.

BOOK FIRST.

PREPARATORY INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE
SPIRITUAL LIFE.

CHAPTER I.
Of the Contempt of Worldly Vanities.

1. " He that followeth me shall not walk in dark-
ness, but shall have the light of Hfe." These are
the words of Christ ; by which we are taught, that
it is only by a conformity to his life and spirit, that
we can be truly enhghtened, and delivered from all
bhndness of heart : let it, therefore, be the principal
employment of our minds, to meditate on the life of
Christ.

2. The doctrine of Christ infinitely transcends the
doctrine of the hohest men; and he that had the
Spirit of Christ, would find in it " hidden manna,
the bread that came down from heaven:" but not
having his Spirit, many, though they frequently hear
his doctrine, yet feel no pleasure in it, no ardent

64

desire after it ; for he only can cordially receive and
truly delight in the doctrine of Christ, who continu-
ally endeavours to acquire the spirit, and to imitate
the life of Christ.

3. Of what benefit are thy most subtle disquisi-
tions into the mystery of the blessed Trinity, if thou
art destitute of humility, and, therefore, a profaner
of the Trinity ? It is not profound speculations, but
a holy life, that makes a man righteous and good,
and dear to God: I had rather feel compunction,
than be able to give the most accurate definition of
it. If thy memory could retain the whole Bible, and
the precepts of all the philosophers, what would it
profit thee, without charity, and the grace of God ?
" Vanity of vanities ! and all is vanity," except only
the love of God, and an entire devotedness to his
service !

4. It is the highest wisdom, by the contempt of
the world, to press forward towards the kingdom of
heaven : it is, therefore, vanity to labour for perish-
ing riches, and place our confidence in their posses-
sion; it is vanity to hunt after honours, and raise
ourselves to an exalted station ; it is vanity to fulfil
the lusts of the flesh, and indulge desires that bemn
and end in torment; it is vanity to wish that life
may be long, and to have no concern whether it be
good ; it is vanity to mind only the present world,
and not to look forward to that which is to come ; to
suffer our affections to hover over a state in which all
things pass away with the swiftness of thought, and
not raise thom to that where true joy abideth for ever.

5. Frequently recall to mind the observation of

65

Solomon, that «^ the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing ;" and let it be thy
continual endeavour to withdraw thy heart from the
love of " things that are seen," and to turn it wholly
to " the things that are not seen :" for he who lives
in subjection to the sensual desires of animal nature,
defiles his spirit, and loses the grace of God.

CHAPTER II.
Of Humility with respect to Intellectual Attainments.

1. Every man naturally desires to increase in
knowledge ; but what doth knowledge profit, without
the fear of the Lord ? Better is the humble pea-
sant, that serveth God, than the proud philosopher,
who, destitute of the knowledge of himself, can de-
scribe the course of the planets. He that truly
knows himself, becomes vile in his of^n eyes, and
has no delight in the praise of man. If I knew all
that the world contains, and had not charity, what
would it avail me in the sight of God, who will
judge me according to my deeds ?

2. Rest from an inordinate desire of knowledge,
for it is subject to much perplexity and delusion.
Learned men are fond of the notice of the world,
and desire to be accounted wise : but there are many
things, the knowledge of which has no tendency to
promote the recovery of our first divine life ; and it
is surely a proof of folly, to devote ourselves wholly

66

to that with which our supreme good has no con-
nection. The soul is not to be satisfied with the
multitude of words; but a holy life is a continual
feast, and a pure conscience the foundation of a firm
and immoveable confidence in God.

3. The more thou knowest, and the better thou
understandest, the more severe will be thy condemn-
ation, unless thy life be proportion ably more holy.
Be not, therefore, exalted, for any uncommon skill
in any art or science ; but let the superior knowledge
that is given thee, make thee more fearful, and more
watchful over thyself. If thou supposest that thou
knowest many things, and hast perfect understand-
ing of them, consider how many more things there
are, which thou knowest not at all; and, instead of
being exalted with a high opinion of thy great know-
ledge, be rather abased by an humble sense of thy
much greater ignorance. And why dost thou pre-
fer thyself to another, since thou mayest find many
who are more learned than thou art, and better in-
structed in the will of God ?

, 4. If thou wouldst learn and know that which is
truly useful, love to be unknown, and to be held in
no estimation : for the highest and most profitable
learning is the knowledge and contempt of ourselves ;
and to have no opinion of our own merit, and always
to think well and highly of others, is an evidence of
great wisdom and perfection. Therefore, thougli
thou seest another openly offend, or even commit
some enormous sin, yet thou must not from thence
take occasion to value thyself for thy superior good-
ness : for thou canst not tell how Ion"; thou wilt be

67

able to persevere in the narrow path of virtue : all
men are frail, but thou shouldst reckon none so frail
as thyself.

CHAPTER III.

Of the Knowledge of the Truth.

1. Blessed is the man whom eternal Truth
teacheth, not by obscure figures and transient sounds,
but by a dkect and full communication ! The per-
ceptions of our senses are narrow and dull, and our
reasoning on those perceptions frequently misleads
us. To what purpose are our keenest disputations
on hidden and obscure subjects, for our ignorance
of which we shall not be brought into judgment at
the great day of universal retribution? How ex-
travagant the folly, to neglect the study of the
"one thing needful;" and wholly devote our time
and faculties to that which is not only vainly curious,
but sinful and dangerous as the state of " those that
have eyes and see not !"

2. And what have redeemed souls to do with
the distinctions and subtleties of logic? He whom
the eternal Word condescendeth to teach, is disen-
gaged at once from the labyrinth of human opinions.
For " of one word are all things ;" and all things
without voice or language speak him alone : He is
that divine principle which speaketh in our hearts;
and, without which, there can be neither just appre-

68

hension, nor rectitude of judgment. Now he to
whom all thmgs are but this one; who compre-
hendeth all things in his will, and beholdeth all
things in his light; hath "his heart fixed," and
abideth in the peace of God.

3. O God, who art the truth, make me one with
thee in everlasting love ! I am often weary of read-
ing, and weary of hearing : in thee alone is the sum
of my desires ! Let all teachers be silent, let the
whole creation be dumb before thee, and do thou
only speak unto my soul !

4. The more a man is devoted to internal exer-
cises, and advanced in singleness and simplicity of
heart, the more sublime and diffusive will be his
knowledge, which he does not acquire by the labour
of study, but receives from divine illumination. A
spirit pure, simple, and constant, is not like Martha,
distracted and troubled with the multiplicity of its
employments, however great; because, being in-
wardly at rest, it seeketh not its own glory in what
it does, but " doth all to the glory of God :" for
there is no other cause of perplexity and disquiet,
but an unsubdued will, and unmortified affections.
A holy and spiritual man, by reducing them to the
rule and standard of his own mind, becomes the
master of all his outward acts ; he does not suffer
himself to be led by them to the indulgence of any
inordinate affections that terminate in self, but sub-
jects them to the unalterable judgment of an illu-
minated and sanctified spirit.

5. No conflict is so severe as his who labours
to subdue himself; but in this we must be continu-

69

ally engaged, if we would be more strengthened in
the inner man, and make real progress towards per-
fection. Indeed, the highest perfection^ we can
attain to in the present state, is allayed with much
imperfection; and our best knowledge is obscured
by the shades of ignorance ; " we see through a glass
(larkly :" an humble knowledge of thyself, therefore,
is a more certain way of leading thee to God, than
the most profound investigations of science. Science,
however, or a proper knowledge of the things that
belong to the present life, is so far from being blame-
able considered in itself, that it is good, and or-
dained of God ; but purity of conscience, and holi-
ness of life, must ever be preferred before it : and
because men ane more solicitous to learn much, than
to live well, they fall into error, and receive little or
no benefit from their studies. But if the same
diligence was exerted to eradicate vice and implant
virtue, as is appHed to the discussion of unprofitable
questions, and the " vain strife of words ;" so much
darintj wickedness would not be found among the
common ranks of men, nor so much licentiousness
disgrace those who are eminent for knowledge.
Assuredly, in the approaching day of universal judg-
ment, it will not be inquh'ed what we have read,
but what we have done ; not how eloquently we have
spoken, but how holily we have lived.

6. Tell me, where is now the splendour of those
learned doctors and professors, whom, while the
honours of literature were blooming round them,
you so well knew, and so highly reverenced ? Their
prebends and benefices are possessed by others, who

70

scarcely have them in remembrance; the tongue of
fame could speak of no name but theirs while they
lived, and now it is utterly silent about them : so
suddenly passeth away the glory of human attain-
ments ! Had these men been as solicitous to be
holy, as they were to be learned, their studies might
have been blessed with that honour which cannot be
sullied, and that happiness which cannot be inter-
rupted. But many are wholly disappointed in their
hopes both of honour and happiness, by seeking
them in the pursuit of " science falsely so called ;"
and not in the knowledge of themselves, and the
love and service of God : and, choosing rather to be
great in the eyes of men, than meek and lowly in
the sight of God, they become vain in their ima-
ginations, and their memorial is written in the dust.

7. He is truly good, who hath great charity ; he
is truly great, who is Httle in his own estimation,.
and rates at nothing the summit of worldly honour ;
he is truly wise, who " counts all earthly things but
as dross, that he may win Christ ;" and he is truly
learned, who hath learned to abandon his own will,
and to do the will of God.

CHAPTER IV.

Of Prudence with respect to our Opinions and
Actions.

1. We must not believe every word we hear,
nor trust the suggestions of every spirit ; but con^

71

sider and examine all things with patient attention,
and in reference to God; for so great, alas ! is hu-
man frailty, that we are more ready to beUeve and
speak evil of one another than good. But a holy
man is not forward to give credit to the reports of
others ; because, being sensible of the darkness and
malignity of nature, he knows that it is prone to
evil, and too apt to pervert truth in the use of
speech.

2. It is an evidence of true wisdom, not to be
precipitate in our actions, nor pertinacious and in-
flexible in our opinions ; and it is a part of the same
wisdom not to give hasty credit to every word that
is spoken, nor immediately to communicate to others
what we have heard, or even what we beHeve. In
cases of perplexity and doubt, consult a prudent and
religious man; and choose rather to be guided by
the counsel of one better than thyself, than to follow
the suiTirestions of thine own blind will.

DO

3. A holy life, however, makes a man wise ac-
cording to the divine wisdom, and wonderfully en-
largeth his experience: and the more humble his
spirit is, and the more subject and resigned to God,
the more wise will he become in the conduct of out-
ward life, and the more undisturbed in the posses-
sion of himself.

ri

CHAPTER V.
Of Reading the Scriptures, and other holy Books.

1. Not eloquence, but truth, is to be sought
after in the Holy Scriptures; every part of which
must be read with the same spirit by which it was
written. And as in these, and all other books, it
is improvement in holiness, not pleasure in the sub-
tlety of the thought or the accuracy of the expres-
sion, that must be principally regarded; we ought
to read those parts that are simple and devout, with
the same affection and delight as those of high spe-
culation or profound erudition.

2. Whatever book thou readest, suffer not thy
mind to be influenced by the character of the writer,
whether his literary accomplishments be great or
small ; but let thy only motive to read, be the pure
love of truth ; and, instead of inquiring who it is that
writes, give all thine attention to the nature of what
is written. Men pass away like the shadows of the
morning : but '• the word of the Lord endureth for
ever ;" and that word, without respect of persons, in
ways infinitely various, speaketh unto all.

3. The profitable reading of the holy Scriptures
is frequently interrupted by the vain curiosity of our
own minds, which prompts us to examine and dis-
cuss, and labour to comprehend those parts that
should be meekly and submissively passed over : but
to derive spiritual improvement from reading, we

73

must read wdth humility, simplicity, and faith; and
not affect the reputation of profound learning.

4. Ask \vith freedom, and receive with silence
and respect, the instructions of holy men : and let
not the parables and allegories of ancient times dis-
gust thee ; for they were not written without mean-
ing, and without design.

CHAPTER VI.
Of Inordinate Affections.

1. The moment a man gives way to inordinate
desire, disquietude and torment take possession of
his heart. The proud and the covetous are never
at rest; but the humble and poor in spirit possess
their souls in the plenitude of peace.

2. He that is not perfectly dead to himself, is soon
tempted and easily subdued, even in the most ordi-
nary occurrences of life. The weak in spirit, who is
yet carnal and inclined to the pleasures of sense,
finds great difficulty in withdrawing himself from
earthly desires ; he feels regret and sorrow, as often
as this abstraction is attempted; and every opposi-
tion to the indulgence of his ruhng passion, kindleth
bis indignation and resentment. If he succeeds in
the gratification of inordinate desire, he is imme-
diately stung with remorse ; for he has not only con-
tracted the guilt of sin, but is wholly disappointed of
the peace which he sought. It is, therefore, not bv

l^ 11- ' '' - 4^n> - - ■ ? - - til.* -

uj wtBMM^ oar fatBooMif tmc iiw.

it to W fend: k camoi be die por-
tioB flf Ub Aat ii caoaly nor of hiB diat k devoted
to a waAHj life; k dvcli odIj vith tbe boalife and

CHAPTER VIL
CfVaiMHoptwidEiatkmcfMimiL

1. Hz diat fi M'rth Us confideDce m aan, or m
aoj cxeated boBg^ if vaioy aod tnHtel]i in a dbadov.
Be Bot adboHwd to Mne flBj* biedmn in die
at oCces, and to appear poor in die i^bt of
fer die lore of Jenf Clint. Pramiie not i^Km
die tnatm a£ iMoe own eodamma, but place afl
diy^ bope in God ; do all that is in ihy power with
md God wifl ble» wkfa his
tbe mtcgn^ of tbjr wiH Trast not in thine
in the wisdom and fldH of anjr
; trmt in the giaee and feroor of
Gody wbo nisedi die bmdde, and horablcth the

2» Chty not m nchea, thoa^ thej mctease
npMi diee; mot m ihy fiiends beeaose di^ are
powofel : bat glofj in God, who gif etfa thee riches,
mti. Bieadtf aai. all limgi; and, what it more dian
aM, demuA to pte tbce ImmM Be not Tain of
die grarrfehfg ^tiea^^diy and beaotj of thj bodj,
wbkb 3 fittle wrlmfss can weaken and defefOL

iO

CHAPTER TIIL

1. -Orex Mt
nmrsi its sraclsl
«di GO. Be

^AtWmU.

ntftfeerMtdieiidk; mi
iii«bep«»oedrtd«

76

only with the humble and simple, the holy and de-
vout ; and let thy conversation with them be on sub-
jects that tend to the perfection of thy spirit. Be
not famihar with any woman, but recommend all
women to the protection and grace of God. Wish
to be familiar only with God and his holy angels,
and shun the notice and intimacy of men : charity
is dae to all; but familiarity is the right of none.

2. It often happens, that a stranger whom the
voice of fame had made illustrious, loses all the
bricjhtness of his character, the moment he is seen
and known : we hope to please others by entering
into famihar connections \vith them ; and we presently
disgust them, by the evil qualities and irregular be-
haviour which they discover in us.

CHAPTER IX.

Of Subjection and Obedience.

1. It is more beneficial to hve in subjection, than
in authority; and to obey is much safer than to
command. But many live in subjection, more from
necessity than the love of God ; and, therefore, pass
a life of continual labour, and find occasions of mur-
mur in the most trifling events : nor can they possi-
bly acquire liberty of spirit, till, with the whole heart,
they are resigned, in all situations, to the will of
God. Go where thou wilt, rest is not to be found,
but in humble submission to tiie diviiiC will : a fond

77

imagination of being easier in any place than that
which Providence has assigned us, and a desire of
change grounded upon it, are both deceitful and tor-
mentinfj.

2. Men love to act from their own judgment, and
are always most inclined to those that are of the
same opinion with themselves. But if God dwell
in our hearts, we shall find it necessary frequently
to abandon our own sentiments, for the sake of peace.
And who is so perfectly wise as to comprehend the
causes and connections of all things? Be not too
confident, therefore, in thine own judgment, but wil-
lingly hearken to the judgment of others. And
though in a question of speculative knowledge, or
a case of worldly prudence, thine own opinion may
be good; yet if, for the sake of God, thou canst
quietly relinquish it, and submit to the opinion of
another, it will greatly conduce to thy spiritual per-
fection. I have often heard that it is more safe to
take advice, than to give it. In some instances, it
may happen, that each man's opinion may be so
equally good, as to produce suspension on both sides
rather than submission on either; but to refuse sub-
mission to the opinion of another, when truth and
the circumstances of the case require it, is a proof of
a proud and pertinacious spirit.

78

CHAPTER X.

Of superfluous Talking.

1. As mucli as lies in thy power, shun the resorts
of worldly men; for much conversation on secular
business, however innocently managed, greatly re-
tards the progress of the spiritual life. We are
soon captivated by vain objects and employments,
and soon defiled; and I have wished a thousand
times, that I had either not been in company, or had
been silent.

2. If it be asked, why we are so fond of mixing
in the familiar and unprofitable conversations of the
world, from which we so seldom return to silence
and recollection without defilement and compunction ;
it must be answered, because in the present life we
seek all our consolation, and therefore hope, by
the amusements of company, to efface the impres-
sions of sorrow, and repair the breaches of distrac-
tion; and because of those things that we most love
and desire, and of those that we most hate and
would avoid, we are fond of thinking and speaking.
But, alas ! how deceitful is this artificial manage-
ment ! for the hope of consolation from outward
life, utterly destroys that inward and divine consola-
tion which the Holy Spirit gives us, and which is
the only support of the soul under all its troubles.
Let us, therefore, watch and pray without ceasing,
that no part of our invaluable time may be thus

79

sacrificed to vanity and sin : and whenever it is pro-
per and expedient to speak, let us speak those things
that are holy, " by which Christians edify one ano-
ther."

3. An evil habit of neMifjence and inattention to
our growth in grace, is the principal cause of our
keeping no guard upon our lips. Spiritual confer-
ences, however, are highly serviceable to spiritual
improvement, especially when persons of one heart
and one mind associate together in the fear and love
of God.

CHAPTER XL

Of true Peace of Mind, and Zeal for Spiritual
Improvement.

1. We might enjoy much peace, if we did not
busy our minds with what others do and say, in
which we have no concern. But how is it possible
for that man to dwell long in peace, who continually
intermeddles in the affaii's of another; who runs
abroad seeking occasions of disquietude, and never
or but seldom turns to God in the retirement of a
recollected spirit? Blessed are the meek and single-
hearted, for they shall possess the abundance of
peace !

2. Whence was it that some of the saints became
so perfect in the prayer of contemplation, but be-
cause it was their continual study and endeavour to

80

mortify all earthly desires, and abstract themselves
from all worldly concerns, that being free from per-
turbation, they might adhere to God with all the
powers of the soul ? But we are too much engaged
with our own passions, and too tenderly affected
by the business and pleasures of this transitory life,
to be capable of such high attainments : nay, so
fixed are our spirits in slothfulness and cold indiffer-
ence, that we seldom overcome so much as one evil
habit.

3. If we were perfectly dead to ourselves, and
free from all inward entanglement, we might then
have some relish for divine enjoyments, and begin
to experience the blessedness of heavenly contem-
plation. But the principle, if not the only impedi-
ment to such a state is, that we continue in subjec-
tion to violent passions and inordinate desires, with-
out making the least effort to enter into the narrow
way, which Christ has pointed out as the one way
of perfection for all the saints of God. Thus, when
any adversity, however trifling, comes upon us, we are
soon dejected, and have immediate recourse to human
consolations; but did we endeavour, hke valiant sol-
diers, to stand our ground in the hour of battle, we
should feel the succour of the Lord descending upon
us from heaven : for he is always ready to assist
those that resolutely strive, and place their whole
confidence in the power of his grace; nay, he creates
occasions of contest, to bless us with so many oppor-
tunities of victory.

4. Tf the progress to perfection is placed only in
external observances, our religion, having no divine

81

life, will quickly perish with the things on which it
subsists ; but the axe must be laid to the root of the
tree, that being separated and freed from the restless
desires of natui-e and self, we may possess our souls
in the peace of God.

5. If every year we did but extirpate one vice, we
should soon become perfect men ; but we experience
the sad reverse of this, and find that we were more
contrite, more pure, more humble, and obedient, in
the beginning of our conversion, than after many
years' profession of a rehgious life. It would be
but reasonable to expect, that the fervour of our
affections, and our progress in holiness, should have
advanced higher and higher every day : but it is now
thought to be a foundation of comfort, and even of
boast, if a man, at the close of this mortal state, is
able to retain some degree of his first ardour.

6. That the path of hoHness may become easy
and delightful, some violence must be used at first
setting out, to remove its numerous obstructions.
It is hard, indeed, to relinquish that to which we
have been accustomed; and harder still, to resist
and deny our own will. But how can we hope to
succeed in the greatest conflict, if we will not con-
tend for \ictory in the least? Resist, then, thine
inordinate desires in their birth ; and continually
lessen the power of thine evil habits, lest, as they
increase in strength in proportion as they are in-
dulged, they grow at length too mighty to be sub-
dued. O ! if thou didst but consider what peace
thou wilt bring to thyself, and what joy thou wilt
produce in heaven, by a life conformed to the life

d3

82

of Christ, I think thou wouldst be more watchful
and zealous for thy continual advancement towards
spiritual perfection.

CHAPTER XII.
Of the Benefit of Adversity,

1. It is good for a man to suffer the adversity of
this earthly life ; for it brings him back to the sacred
retirement of the heart, where only he finds that he
is an exile from his native home, and ought not to
place his trust in any worldly enjoyment. It is
good for him also to meet with contradiction and re-
proach : and to be evil thought of, and evil spoken
of, even when his intentions are upright, and his
actions blameless; for this keeps him humble, and
is a powerful antidote to the poison of vain-glory:
and then chiefly it is, that we have recourse to the
witness within us, which is God; when we are out-
wardly despised, and held in no degree of esteem
and favour among men. Our dependence upon God
ought to be so entire and absolute, that we should
Tiever think it necessary, in any kind of distress, to
have recourse to human consolations. /]■, , ^ -

2, When a regenerate man is sinking under ad-
versity, or disturbed and tempted by evil thoughts,
he then feels the necessity of the power and pre-
sence of God in his soul, without which he certainly
knows that he can neither bear evil nor do good;

83

then he grieves, and prays, and " groans to be
delivered from the bondage of corruption;" then,
weary of Hving in vanity, he wishes to " die, that
he may be dissolved, and be with Christ," and then
he is fully convinced, that absolute security and per-
fect rest are not compatible with his present state of
life.

CHAPTER XIII.
Of Resisting Temptations.

1. As long as we continue in this world, we can-
not possibly be free from the trouble and anguish of
temptation; and, in confirmation of this truth, it is
written in Job, that " the life of man upon earth is
a continual warfare." Every one, therefore, ought
to be attentive to the temptations that are peculiar
to his own spirit ; and to persevere in watchfulness
and prayer, lest his " adversary the devil, who never
sleepeth, but continually goeth about, seeking whom
he may devour," should find some unguarded place,
where he may enter with his delusions.

2. The highest degree of holiness attainable by
man, is no security against the assaults of temptation,
from which his present fife is not capable of absolute
exemption. But temptations, however dangerous
and afflicting, are highly beneficial; because, under
their discipUne, we are humbled, purified, and led
towards perfection. All the followers of Christ

84 .

have through "much tribulation and affliction en-
tered into the kingdom of God;" and those that
could not endure the trial, have "fallen from the
faith and expectation of the saints, and become re-
probate."

3. There is no order of men, however holy, nor
any place, however secret and remote, where and
among whom temptations will not come for the exer-
cise of meekness, and troubles rise for the trial of
patient resignation. And that this must be the con-
dition of human nature in the present life is evident,
because it is "born in sin," and contains in itself
those restless and inordinate desires which are the
ground of every temptation : so that when one tempt-
ation is removed, another succeeds; and we shall
always have some degree of evil to suffer, till we have
recovered the purity and perfection of that state from
which we are fallen.

4. Many, by endeavouring to fly from temptations,
have fallen precipitately into them ; for it is not by
flight, but by patience and humility, that we must
become superior to all our enemies. He who only
declines the outward occasion, and strives not to
pluck up the inward principle by the root, is so far
from conquest, that the temptation will recur the
sooner, and with greater violence, and he will feel
the conflict still more severe. It is by gradual ad-
vances, rather than in impetuous efforts, that victory
is obtained : rather by patient suffering that looks up
to God for support, than by impatient solicitude and
rigorous austerity.

3. In thine own temptations, often ask counsel

85

of those that have been tried, and have overcome ;
and in the temptations of thy brother, treat him not
with severity, but tenderly administer the comfort
which you desire to receive.

6. That which renders the first assaults of tempt-
ation peculiarly severe and dangerous, is the insta-
bility of our own minds, arising from the want of
faith in God; and as a ship without a steersman
is driven about by the force of contrary winds, so
" an unstable man," who has no faith in God, is
tossed and borne away upon the wave of every tempt-
ation.

7. " Gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men
in the furnace of adversity." We frequently know
not the strength that is hidden in us, till temptation
calls it forth, and show^s us how much we are able to
sustain. We must not, however, presume, but be
particularly upon our guard against the first assaults ;
for -the enemy will be more easily subdued, if he is
resisted in his approaches, and not suffered to enter
the portal of our hearts.

8. A certain poet gives this advice :

Take physic early ; medicines come too late,
When the disease is growTi inveterate.

And the caution may be successfully applied to the
assaults of sin, the progress of which is gradual and
dangerous : for evil is at first presented to the mind
by a single suggestion ; the imagination kindled by
the idea, seizes it with all its strength, and feeds
upon it; this produces sensual delight, then the
motions of inordinate desire, and at length the full
consent of the will. And thus, the mahgnant ene-

86

my, that was not resisted in his first attack, enters
by gradual advances, and takes entire possession of
the heart ; and the longer opposition is deferred by
habitual negligence, the power of opposing becomes
every day less, and the strength of the adversary
proportionably greater.

9. To some, temptations are more severe at the
beginning of conversion ; to others, at the end ; some
are afflicted with them during the whole course of a
religious Hfe ; and some experience but short and
gentle trials. This variety is adjusted by the wis-
dom and equity of divine Providence, which hath
weighed the different states and dispositions of dif-
ferent men, and ordered all its dispensations so as
most effectually to tend to the salvation of all.
Therefore, when we are tempted, let us not despair ;
but rather, with more animated fervours of faith,
hope, and love, pray to God, that he would vouch-
safe to support us under all our trials, and, in the
language of St. Paul, "with every temptation, to
make also a way to escape," that we may be able to
bear it ; " let us humble our souls" as " under the
hand of God," who hath promised to " save and
exalt the lowly and the meek."

10. By these trials of affliction in the spirit of
man, his proficiency in the Christian life is fully
proved ; the power of divine grace is more sensibly
felt in himself, and the fruits of it are more illus-
triously apparent to others. It is, indeed, a little
matter, for a man to be holy and devout, when he
feels not the pressure of any evil: but if, in the
midst of troubles, he maintains his faith, his hope,

87

and resignation, and -'in patience possesses his
soul," he gives a considerable evidence of a rege-
nerate nature. Some, however, who have been blessed
with victory in combating temptations of the most
rigorous kind, are yet suffered to fall even by the
lightest that arise in the occurrences of daily life;
that being humbled by the want of power to resist
such slight attacks, they may never prasume upon
their own strength to repel those that are more
severe.

CHAPTER XIV.
Of avoiding Rash Judgment.

1. Keep thy eye turned inwardly upon thyself,
and beware of judging the actions of others. In
judging others, a man labours to no purpose, com-
monly errs, and easily sins; but in examining and
judging himself, he is always wisely and usefully
employed.

2. We generally judge of persons and things as
they either oppose or gratify our private views and
inclinations ; and, blinded by the impetuous motions
of self-love, are easily led from the judgment of
truth. If God alone was the pure object of all our
intentions and desires, we should not be troubled
when the truth of things happens to be repugnant to
our own sentiments and opinions : but now, we are
continually drawn aside from truth and peace, by

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some partial inclination lurking within, or some ap-
parent good or evil rising without.

3. Many, indeed, secretly seek themselves in every
thing they do, and perceive it not. These, while
the course of things perfectly coincides with the senti-
ments and wishes of their own hearts, seem to possess
all the blessings of peace ; but when their wishes are
disappointed, and their sentiments opposed, they are
immediately disturbed, and become sorrowful and
wretched.

4. From the diversity of inclinations and opinions
tenaciously adhered to, arise dissensions among friends
and countrymen, nay even among the professors of
a religious and holy life.

5. It is difficult to extirpate that which custom
has deeply rooted ; and no man is willing to be car-
ried further than his own inclination and opinions
lead him. If, however, thou adherest more to thy
own reason and thy own will, than to the meek obe-
dience of Jesus Christ, as the principle of all virtue
within thee; thou wilt but slowly, if ever, receive
the illuminations of the Holy Spirit: for God ex-
pects an entire and absolute subjection of our will
to his; and that the flames of divine love should
infinitely transcend the sublimest heights of human
reason.

89

CHAPTER XV.
Of Works of Charity.

1. Let not the hope of any worldly advantage,
nor the affection thou bearest to any creature, pre-
vail upon thee to do that which is evil. For the
benefit of him, however, who stands in need of re-
lief, a customary good work may sometimes be inter-
mitted, or rather commuted ; for, in such a case, that
good work is not annihilated, but incorporated with
a better.

2. Without charity, the external work profiteth
nothing; but whatever is done from charity, how-
ever trifling and contemptible in the opinion of men,
is wholly fruitful in the acceptance of God, who re-
gardeth more the degree of love with which we act,
than what or how much we have performed. He doth
much, who loveth much ; he doth much who doth
well; and he doth much and well, who constantly
preferreth the good of the community to the gratifi-
cation of his own will.

3. Many actions, indeed, assume the appearance
of charity, that are wholly selfish and carnal ; for in-
ordinate affections, self-will, the hope of reward, and
the desire of personal advantage and convenience,
are the common motives that influence the conduct
of men.

4. He that hath true and perfect charity, " seek-
eth not his own" in any thing, but seeketh only thar

90

** God may be glorified in all things ;" he " envieth
not," for he desires no private gratification : he de-
lighteth not in himself, nor in any created being ;
but wisheth for that which is infinitely transcendent,
to be blessed in the enjoyment of God : he ascribes
not good to any creature, but refers it absolutely to
God ; from whom, as from its fountain, all good ori-
ginally flows, in whom, as in their centre, all saints
will finally rest.

5. O that man had but one spark of true charity !
he would then know, by an experimental feeling,
that himself, the world, and all creatures, were alto-
gether vanity.

CHAPTER XVI.

Of bearing the Infirmities of others.

1. Those evils which a man cannot rectify either
in himself or others, he ought to bear with humble
resignation, till God shall be pleased to produce a
change ; for this state of imbecility is, perhaps, con-
tinued, as the proper trial of patience, without the
perfect work of which we shall make but a slow and
ineffectual progress in the Christian life. Yet under
these impediments, we must devoutly pray, that God
would enable us, by the assistance of his Spirit, to
bear them with constancy and meekness.

2. If, " after the first and second admonition, thy
brother will not obey the truth," contend no longer

91

Vvith him; but leave the event to God, who only
knoweth how to turn evil into good, that his will
may be done, and his glory accompHshed in all his
creatures.

3. Endeavour to be always patient of the faults
and imperfections of others ; for thou hast many faults
and imperfections of thy own, that require a reci-
procation of forbearance. If thou art not able to
make thyself that which thou wishest to be, how
I canst thou expect to mould another in conformity to
thy will ? But we require perfection in the rest of
mankind, and take no care to rectify the disorders of
our own hearts : we desire that the faults of others
should be severely punished, and refuse the gentlest
correction ourselves : we are offended at their Hcen-
tiousness, and yet cannot bear the least opposition
to our own immoderate desires : we would subject all
to the control of rigorous statutes and penal laws,
but will not suffer any restraint upon our own ac-
tions : and thus it appears, how very seldom the se-
cond of the two great commandments of Christ is
fulfilled, and how difficult it is for a man to "love
his neighbour as he loves himself."

4. If all men were perfect, we should meet w^ith
nothincr in the conduct of others to suffer for the
sake of God. But in the present fallen state of
human nature, it is his blessed will, that we should
learn to " bear one another's burdens :" and as no
man is free from some burden of sin or sorrow ; as
none has strength and wisdom sufficient for all the
purposes of life and duty, the necessity of mutual
forbearance, mutual consolation, mutual support, in-

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siruction, and advice, is founded upon our mutual im-
perfections, troubles, and wants. Besides, by out-
ward occasions of suflPering from the conduct of others,
the nature and degree of every man's inward strength
is more plainly discovered ; for outward occasions do
not make him frail, but only show him what he is in
himself.

CHAPTER XVII.
Of a lleduse Life.

1. It is necessary that thou shouldst learn to
break and subdue thy own will in innumerable in-
stances, if thou wouldst live in harmony and peace
among those that are devoted to a life of rehgious
retirement. " How good and how pleasant it is,
for brethren," in colleges and other societies sepa-
rated from the world, " to dwell together in unity,"
and to preserve "the bond of peace" unbroken to
the end of life ! Blessed, surely, is the man, who
in this state hath passed his days with innocence,
and closed them with success ! That thou mayest
keep thine integrity by a faithful perseverance in a
course so glorious, consider thyself as an exile from
thy native country, " a stranger and a pilgrim upon
earth," and be willing to become a fool for the sake
of Christ.

2. It is not the peculiar habit, the tonsure, or
any alteration merely external, but a change of heart,

93

and an entire mortification of the passions, that are
the indispensable quaUfications for such a state ; and
he that seeks any thing in it, but the glory of God
in the purification of his own soul, will meet only
with disappointment and trouble, anxiety and re-
morse : for the blessing of peace cannot long rest
upon him, who doth not continually endeavour to
make himself less than all men, and to become sub-
ject to all.

3. But, tell me, for what purpose camest thou
hither ; to serve or to govern, to be ministered unto
or to minister ? Thou knowest, that here thou art
called to a life of subjection, labour, and patience;
not of dominion, idleness, and amusement. Here
men are tried, as gold in the fire ; and here no one
can stand, unless with his whole heart he desireth
to be humbled in the highest decjree for the sake of
God.

CHAPTER XVIH.

Of the Examples of the Holy Fathers.

1. Consider the lively examples of the primi-
tive Christians, resplendent Avith the heavenly bright-
ness of religious perfection ; and you will soon dis-
cern, how worthless and vain is the sum of our best
actions. Alas ! what is our life, if it be compared
with theirs ? Those holy men, the faithful disciples
of a crucified Saviour, maintained their allegiance to

94

their Lord, in hunger and thirst, in cold and naked-
ness, in labour and fatigue, in watching and prayer,
in fasting and holy meditation, in the multitude of
persecutions and reproaches. How numerous and
severe were the trials of the apostles, martyrs, con-
fessors, virgins, and all who desired to "follow
Christ in the regeneration!" Thev "hated their
life in this world, that they might keep it unto life
eternal."

2. How severe a state of self-renunciation was
chosen by the fathers in the desert ! What long
and heavy temptations did their perseverance over-
come ! What reiterated conflicts did they sustain
with the enemy ! How ardent were their prayers !
How rigorous their tasks of abstinence ! With what
zeal and fervour did they aspire after higher degrees
of spiritual perfection ! With what intrepidity and
resolution did they wage perpetual war against their
vices ! How pure and disinterested was their love
of God ! The day they devoted to labour, and the
night to prayer; and even in the hours of labour,
their hearts were lifted up to heaven in continual
aspirations. Their whole time was usefully em-
ployed : every hour in which they were engaged in
immediate intercourse with God, seemed short ; and
ravished with the surpassing sweetness of divine con-
templation, they became insensible of the want of
bodily refreshment. Riches, authority, honours,
friends, relations, and all propriety in the posses-
sion of sublunary good, they renounced; they re-
ceived, with a reluctant hand, the common supports
of animal life, and even deplored the necessity of

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administering to the wants of the body. With
respect, therefore, to all earthly possessions, they
were poor; but they were eminently rich in holiness,
and the favour of God : outwardly they were in ab-
solute want ; but inwardly they abounded in grace,
and the refreshments of divine consolation : they
were the aliens and outcasts of the world, but the
adopted sons and intimate friends of God : in their
own estimation, they were less than nothing, and
vanity ; and were, indeed, mean and despicable in the
eyes of men; but in the sight of God, they were
"elect and precious." By deep humility, pure
obedience, ardent charity, and persevering patience,
they made continual advances in the spiritual life,
and obtained superadded degrees of the grace of
God. Such were the men, that were given for an
example to all the professors of a religious life : and
though their number is small, yet it ought more to
encourage us to press resolutely forward towards per-
fection, than the multitude of the lukewarm, to relax
in our endeavours, and linger in our progress.

3. As an effect of the influence of their life, how
great was the ardour of religious societies at their
first institution ! What devotion in prayer ! What
emulation in holiness ! How strict and impartial
the discipline of the superior, how unconstrained
and cheerful the reverence and obedience of the sub-
ject ! These footsteps, though forsaken, still bear
testimony to the upright progress of those holy men,
who, by persevering in the narrow ' path in which
Christ has called all to follow him, trampled the
world under their feet. Now, zeal is contracted

96

within the narrow limits of negative perfection ; and
a mere passive sufferance of that discipline to which
obedience has been vowed, a mere exemption from
positive transgression, is esteemed a foundation of
triumph. Ah ! lamentable supineness ! that we
should so soon lose the primitive ardour ; and grow
weary of a life of holiness, through mere idleness
and cold indifference.

4. God grant, that in thy heart, which iias been
impressed with so many examples of true devotion,
the desire of perfection may never sleep the sleep of
death !

CHAPTER XIX.

Of Religious Exercises.

1. The life of a religious man ought not only so
to abound with holiness, as that the frame of his
spirit may be at least equal to his outward beha-
viour; but there ought to be much more holiness
within, than is discernible without ; because God,
who searcheth the heart, is our inspector and judge,
■whom it is our duty infinitely to reverence wherever
we are, and as angels to walk pure in his sight.
We ought every day to renew our holy resolutions,
and excite ourselves to more animated fervour, as if
this was the first day of our conversion ; and to say,
" Assist me, O Lord God, in my resolution to de-
vote myself to thy holy service ; and grant, that this

97

day I may begin to walk perfectly, because all that I
have done hitherto is nothinjy."

2. According to the strength of our resolution, so
is the degree of our progress; and much diligence
and ardour is necessary for him who wisheth to ad-
vance well : for if he whose resolutions are strong,
often fails : what will he do, whose resolutions are
weak? We break our resolutions, indeed, from
variou* causes, and in various ways; and a slight
omission of religious exercises seldom happens with-
out some injury to the spirit.

3. The good resolutions of the righteous depend
not upon their own wisdom and ability, but upon the
grace of God, in which they perpetually confide,
whatever be their attempts : for they know, that
" though the heart of man deviseth his way," yet
the Lord ordereth the event ; and that " it is not in
man that walketh, to direct his steps."

4. If for some act of piety, or some purpose of
advantage to thy brother, a customary exercise is
sometimes omitted, it may afterwards be easily re-
sumed; but if it is lightly relinquished through care-
lessness or weariness of spirit, the omission becomes
culpable, and will be found hurtful. After the best
exertion of our endeavours, we shall still be apt to
fail in many duties : some determined resolution,
however, must always be made, especially against
those tempers and habits that are the chief impedi-
ments to our growth in grace.

5. The concerns both of our outward state, and
inward spirit, are to be equally examined and regu-
lated ; because both have a considerable influence in

E 1

98

obstructing or advancing the spiritual life. If thou
canst not continually recollect thyself, do it some-
times at least, and not less than twice every day, in
the morning and in the evening. In the morning,
resolve; and, in the evening, examine thy behaviour;
what thou hast that day been in thought, word, and
deed; for in all these, perhaps, thou hast often of-
fended God and thy brother. Gird thy loins like a
valiant man, and be continually watchful against the
malicious stratagems of the devil. Bridle the ap-
petite of gluttony, and thou wilt with less difficulty
restrain all other inordinate desires of animal nature.
Never suffer the invaluable moments of thy life to
steal by unimproved, and leave thee in idleness and
vacancy ; but be always either reading, or writing, or
praying, or meditating, or employed in some useful
labour for the common good.

6. Bodily exercises are to be used with discre-
tion ; and the same exercises must not be indis-
criminately undertaken by all. Those to which the
duty of the society, as such, does not oblige us,
must never be performed in the sight of others ; for
they are private and personal, and can be safely and
usefully performed only in secret. Take care, how-
ever, that from the love of private and personal ex-
ercises, thou dost not become averse to the pubhc
exercises of the community; but having fully and
faithfully discharged those to which thou art bound
by the injunctions of the superior, if any leisure re-
mains, return to thyself again, and do whatever the
spirit of devotion prompts thee to.

7. The same kind of exercise is not equally suited

99

to the state and improvement of every spirit ; but
some are more useful and convenient to one than to
another. Different exercises are also expedient for
different times and seasons; and some are more
salutary for the days of feasting, and some for the
days of fasting: we stand in need of some in the
seasons of temptation, and of others in the hours of
internal peace and rest : some subjects of meditation
are fitt* for a time of sorrow, and others when we
" rejoice in the Lord."

8. On the eve of the principal feasts and fasts,
we should renew our holy exercises, and with more
exalted fervour implore the mediation of our great
Intercessor : and in the intervals between feast and
feast, we should form such holy resolutions, as if
we were about to leave this earthly Hfe, to be made
partakers of the everlasting feast. In all these sea-
sons of peculiar devotion, we ought so to prepare our
spirits, and so regulate our actions, as if we were
shortly to be admitted into " the joy of our Lord."
And if that blessed event is still deferred, let us
humbly acknowledge that we are not yet sufficiently
prepared for it, but are still unworthy of that " great
glory which shall be revealed in us," in God's ap-
pointed time : and may a contrite sense of such an
improper state, quicken us to more faithful vigilance,
and a more holy preparation. " Blessed is the ser-
vant," saith Christ, " whom his Lord, when he com-
eth, shall find watching. Verily I say unto you,
that he will make him ruler over all that he hath."

e2

100

CHAPTER XX.

Of Solitude and Silence.

1. Appropriate a convenient part of time to re-
tirement and self- converse, and frequently meditate
on the wonderful love of God in the redemption of
man. Reject all studies that are merely curious;
and read only what will rather penetrate the heart
with holy compunction, than exercise the brain with
useless speculations.

2. If thou canst refrain from unnecessary conver-
sation and idle visits, and suppress the desire of
" hearing and telling some new thing;" thou wilt
find not only abundant leisure, but convenient oppor-
tunity for holy and useful meditation. The most
eminent saints, where Providence has permitted it,
have shunned all intercourse with men, and chosen
to live wholly to God in retirement and solitude.

3. It is the declaration of Seneca, that " as often
as he mingled in the company of men, he came out
of it less a man than he went in :" and to the truth
of this, our own experience, after much free conver-
sation, bears testimony ; for it is much easier to be
wholly silent, than not to exceed in word ; it is much
easier to keep concealed at home, than to preserve
ourselves from sin abroad : he, therefore, that press-
eth forward to the perfection of the internal and spi-
ritual life, must, with Jesus, " withdraw himself from
the multitude."

101

4. No man can safely go abroad, that does not
love to stay at home ; no man can safely speak, that
does not willmgly hold his tongue ; no man can safely
govern, that would not cheerfully become subject;
no man can safely command, that has not truly
learned to obey; and no man can safely rejoice, but
he that has the testimony of a good conscience.

5. The joy and safety of the saints has always
been full of the fear of God; nor were they less
humble, and less watchful over themselves, because
of the splendour of their holiness, and their extraor-
dinary measures of grace; but the security of the
wicked begins in pride and presumption, and ends in
self-delusion. Whatever, therefore, are thy attain-
ments in holiness, do not promise thyself a state of
unchangeable perfection in the present life. Those
whose character for virtue has stood high in the
esteem of men, have been proportionably more ex-
posed to the danger of a severer fall, through self-
confidence : and, therefore, it is much safer for most
men not to be wholly free from temptation, but
rather to be often assaulted, lest they grow too se-
cure; lest, perhaps, they exalt themselves in the
pride of human attainment; nay, lest they become
wholly devoted to the honours, the pleasures, and
comforts of their earthly life.

6. O that man would never seek after transitory
joy, would never busy himself with the trifling af-
fairs of a perishing world ; how pure a conscience
might he maintain ! O that he could divorce his
spirit from all vain solicitude; and devoting it to
the contemplation of God and the truths of salvation,

102

place all his confidence in the divine mercy ; in what
profound tranquillity and peace would he possess his
soul !

7. No man is worthy of heavenly consolation,
unless he hath been dihgently exercised in holy com-
punction. If thou desirest true compunction, enter
into thy closet, and excluding the tumults of the
world, according to the advice of the Psalmist,
" commune with thy heart, and be still," that thou
mayest feel regret and horror for sin. Thou wilt
find in the closet, that which thou often losest abroad.
The closet long continued in, becomes delightful;
but, when seldom visited, it is beheld with reluctance,
weariness, and disgust. If, in the beginning of thy
conversion, thou canst keep close to it, and cultivate
the advantages it is capable of yielding, it will be
ever after desirable as a beloved friend, and become
the seat of true consolation.

8. In solitude and silence the holy soul advances
with speedy steps, and learns the hidden truths of
the oracles of God. There she finds the fountain of
tears, in which she bathes and purifies herself every
night : there she rises to a more intimate union with
her Creator, in proportion as she leaves the dark-
ness, impurity, and tumult of the world. To him
who withdraws himself from his friends and acquaint-
ance to seek after God, will God draw near with his
holy angels.

9. It is better for a man to lie hid continually,
and attend to the purification of his soul; than,
nec^lcctino; that " one thinij needful," to eo abroad
and work miracles. It is highly commendable in

103

all that are devoted to a religious life, to go seldom
abroad, to decline being seen of men,« and to be
as little fond of seeing them. And, indeed, why
shouldst thou desire to see that, which thou hast
neither power nor permission to enjoy? for " the
world passeth away, and the lust thereof." Our
sensual appetites continually prompt us to range
abroad, in search of continual gratification ; but when
the hour of wandering is over, what do we bring
home, but remorse of conscience, and weariness and
dissipation of spirit? A joyful going out is often
succeeded by a sad return; and a merry evening
brings forth a sorrowful morning. Thus all carnal
joy enters delightfully, but ere it departs, bites and
kiUs.

10. What canst thou see any where else, which
thou canst not see in thy chosen retirement ? Be-
hold the heavens, the earth, and all the elements !
for out of these were all things made. What canst
thou see there or any where, that will " continue
long under the sun?" Thou hopest, perhaps, to
subdue desire by the power of enjoyment : but thou
vdh find it impossible for " the eye to be satisfied
with seeing, or the ear to be filled with hearing."
If all visible nature could pass in review before thee,
what would it be but a vain vision ?

11. Lift up thy eyes, then, to God in the highest
heavens, and pray for the forgiveness of thy innu-
merable sins and negligences. Leave vain pleasures
to the enjoyment of vain men, and mind only that
which God hath required of thee for thy own eternal
good. Make thy door fast behind thee : and invite

104

Jesus, thy beloved, to come unto thee, and enlighten
thy darkness with his light. Abide faithfully with
him in this retirement, for thou canst not find so
much peace in any other place.

12. If thou hadst never gone abroad and listened
to idle reports, thou hadst continued safe in the
possession of peace. But from whatever time thou
delightest to hear and to tell news, thy heart will
be the prey of disappointment and trouble, anxiety
and perturbation.

CHAPTER XXI.

Of Compunction of Heart,

1. If thou wouldest make any progress in the
Christian life, keep thyself continually in the fear
of God; and love not licentious freedom, but re-
strain all thy senses within strict discipline, and
guard thy spirit against intemperate mirth. Give
up thy heart to compunction, and thou wilt soon
feel enkindled in it the fire of devotion. Com-
punction opens a path to infinite good, which is in-
stantly lost by dissipation and light merriment. It
is wonderful, indeed, that any man should rejoice in
this life, who considers his state of banishment, and
the multitude of dangers to which he is continually
exposed: but through levity of heart, and the ne-
glect of self-examination, we grow insensible of the
disorders of our souls ; and often vainly laugli, when

lOo

with just reason we ought to mourn. There is,
however, no true liberty, nor any solid joy, but in
the fear of God united with a pure conscience.

2. Blessed is the man who can throw off every
impediment of trouble and dissipation, and recollect
his spirit into union with holy compunction ! Blessed
is he, that can renounce every enjoyment that may
either defile or burden his conscience ! Strive
manfully ; one custom is subdued and extirpated by
another. If thou canst divorce thyself from men
and their concerns, they will soon divorce themselves
from thee, and leave thee to do the work of thy own
salvation and peace.

3. Perplex not thy spirit, therefore, with the bu-
siness of others, nor involve thyself in the interests
of the great. Keep thy eye continually upon thyself,
as its chief object; and admonish thyself in an especial
manner, above all that are dear to thee. Grieve not
that thou dost not enjoy the favour of men ; but
rather grieve that thou hast not walked with that
holy vigilance and self-denial which becometh a true
Christian, who is the devoted servant of God.

4. It is more safe, and more beneficial, not to
have many consolations in the present life, especially
those that are carnal. That we are destitute, how-
ever, of spiritual and divine consolation, or but sel-
dom enjoy its sweetness, is owing to ourselves ; be-
cause we desire not compunction of heart, nor aban-
don those consolations that are external and vain.
Acknowledge thyself not only unworthy of divhie
consolation, but worthy rather of much tribulation.

5. When a man feels true compunction, the plea-
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106

sures and honours of the world become burdensome
and bitter, and he finds continual occasion for grief
and tears ; for whether he considers himself, or thinks
of others, he knows, that no man lives without much
tribulation. And the more he considers himself, the
greater wiU be his sorrow; for the ground of true
compunction and sorrow, is the multitude of our
transgressions, and the strong possession that sin has
in us; by which our faculties are so subdued, that we
are scarcely ever able to contemplate the enjoyments
of the heavenly state.

6. If thou didst more frequently tliink of the
time of death, than of the length of life, thou wouldst
undoubtedly exert more ardent resolution in resisting
the power of sin : and didst thou truly consider the
awful purifications that are necessary to restore a
neglected and ill-governed spirit, 1 think thou wouldst
gladly submit to a life of labour and penance, and
not be afraid of the most rigorous austerities; but
because we suffer not these considerations to impress
our hearts, but turn them off by yielding to the
blandishments of sense, we remain, both to the evil
of our fallen state, and the means of redemption from
)t, cold and insensible.

Y. It is owing to that imbecility which dreads
compunction, that the wretched body complains upon
such trifling occasions. Pray, therefore, most hum-
bly and most ardently to the Lord, that he will bless
thee with the spirit of compunction; and say, with
the royal prophet, " Feed mc, O Lord, with tlie
bread of tears, and give me plenteousness of tears
to drink !"

107

CHAPTER XXII.
Of the Consideration of Human Misery.

1. Wretched thou art, wherever thou art, and
to whatever thou turnest, unless thou turnest to
God. Why art thou troubled because the events
of life have not corresponded with thy own will and
desire ? Who is there that enjoy eth all things ac-
cording to his own will? neither I, nor thou, nor
any man upon earth. There is no human being
without some share of distress and anguish, not
even kings and popes. Whose condition, there-
fore, is the best ? his, surely, who is ready to suffer
any affliction for the sake of God.

2. Many weak and ignorant persons say, " Be-
hold, how happy a state doth that man enjoy ! how
nch, how great, how powerful and exalted !" But
tiun thy attention to the unfading glories and un-
perishing riches of Eternity, and thou wilt perceive
that all these temporal advantages are of no value :
their acquisition and continuance are uncertain, and
their enjoyment painful : for they are never pos-
sessed without soHcitude and fear. The happiness of
man, whose real wants are soon and easily supplied,
" consisteth not in the abundance of the things
which he possesseth."

3. It is, indeed, misery to live upon earth : and
the more spiritual a man desires to be, the more
bitter does he find the present hfe : because he more

108

sensibly feels in himself, and more clearly discerns
in others, the depths of human corruption. To eat
and drink, to wake and sleep, to labour and to rest,
and to be subject to all other necessities of fallen
nature, must needs be a hfe of affliction and misery
to the regenerate man, who longs " to be dissolved,"
and to be free from sin, and the occasions of sin.

4. Under a sense of the oppression and trouble
which the internal man feels from bodily wants and
pains, the royal prophet, so far as it was possible
to be freed from them, devoutly prays, " From my
necessities dehver me, O Lord !" Miserable, how-
ever, are all who have not this sense of the corrup-
tion and misery of their present life ; and much more
miserable those that are in love with it: for there
are some whose attachment to it is so exceedingly
strong, that though by their own labour and the
bounty of others, they are scarcely suppHed with
common necessaries, yet if it was possible for them
to live here for ages, they would not spend a single
thought on the kingdom of God. O infatuated and
faithless hearts, that are so deeply sunk in earth, as
to feel no desire for any enjoyments but those that
are carnal ! But, wretched creatures ! they will in
the end bitterly experience, how vain and worthless
that is on which they have "set their affections."
The saints of God, and all the devoted friends and
followers of Christ, regarded not the things that
gratified the appetites of the fliesh, nor those that
were the objects of popular esteem and pursuit; but
their hope and desire panted after the purity and
glory of the angelic kingdom ; their whole soul was

109

continually elevated to the eternal and invisible en-
joyments of heaven, that by the continual influence
of what was visible and temporal, it might not be
enslaved to the enjoyments of earth.

5. Dear brother, cast not away the hope of at-
taining to these spiritual enjoyments; time and op-
portunity for this are in much mercy still allowed
thee: why then will thou defer thy good purpose
from day to day? Arise, this moment, from the
deadly sleep of sin, and say. Now is the time of
action, now is the day of battle, now the season of
amendment, "the accepted time, the day of salva-
tion."

6. The hour of distress is the hour of victory.
Thou must pass through fire and water, before thou
canst come to refreshment and rest. Unless thou
dost violence to thyself, thou wilt never subdue sin.
While we carry about us this corruptible body, we
cannot be free from the assaults of sin, nor live with-
out weariness and sorrow. We desire, indeed, to
be at rest from all misery, but as, by sin, we lost
our innocence, so, with our innocence, we lost our
true happiness. It is, therefore, necessary to hold
fast our patience, and wait the appointed time of
God's mercy, till this iniquity, and the calamities of
which it is the cause, " shall be overpast, and mor-
tality be swallowed up of hfe."

T. How great is human frailty, for ever prone to
evil ! To-day we confess our sins, and to-morrow
commit the same sins again: this hour we resolve
to be vigilant, and the next act as if we had never
resolved at all. What reason, therefore, have such

no

corrupt and unstable creatures to be continually
humble, and to reject every vain opinion of their
own strength and goodness !

8. That may be soon lost through negligence,
which after much labour we have at length scarcely
attained through grace : and what will become of us

^ in the eve of life, if we grow cool and languid in
the morning? Woe be to us, if we thus turn aside
to repose and ease, as if all were peace and security ;
when as yet there does not appear a single footstep
of true holiness in all our conduct !

9. We have still need, hke young novitiates,
of being again instructed, and, by severe discipline,
formed a second time to holiness; if peradventure
any hope be left of future amendment, and a more
sure advancement towards the perfection of the spi-
ritual life.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Of the Meditation of Death.

1. The end of thy present life will speedily come :
consider, therefore, in what degree of preparation
thou standest for that which will succeed. To-day
man is, to-morrow he is not seen; and when he is
once removed from the sight of others, he soon pass-
eth from their remembrance. O the hardness and
insensibility of the human heart, that thinks only
on present enjoyments, and wholly disregards the

Ill

prospects of futurity ! In every thought, and every
action, thou shouldst govern and possess thy spirit
so absolutely, as if thou wast to die to-day; and
was thy conscience pure, thou wouldst not fear thy
dissolution, however near. It is better to avoid
sin, than to shun death. If thou art not prepared
for that awful event to-day, how wilt thou be pre-
pared to-morrow ? To-morrow is an uncertain day ;
and how knowest thou that to-morrow will be thine?

2. What availeth it to live long, when the im-
provement of life is so inconsiderable ? Length of
days, instead of making us better, often increaseth
the weio-ht of sin. Would to God that we could
live well only for one day ! Many reckon years
from the time of their conversion ; but the account
of their attainments in holiness is exceedingly small.
Therefore, though death be terrible, yet a longer
life may be dangerous. Blessed is the man who
continually anticipates the hour of his death, and
keeps himself in continual preparation for its ap-
proach !

3. If thou hast ever seen another die, let not the
impression of that most interesting sight be effaced
from thy heart; but remember, that through the
same vale of darkness thou also must pass from this
state of existence to the next. When it is morning,
think that thou mayest not live till the evening ; and
in the evening, presume not to promise thyself ano-
ther morning. Be, therefore, always ready ; and so
live that death may not find thee confounded at its
summons. Many die suddenly and unexpectedly;
"for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of

112

Man cometli." And when that last hour is come
to thee, thou wilt begin to think differently of thy
past life, and be inexpressibly grieved for thy re-
missness and inconsideration.

4. How wise and happy is the man who conti-
nually endeavours to be as holy in the day of life, as
he wishes to be found in the hour of death ! And
a perfect contempt of the world, an ardent desire of
improvement in holiness, the love of discipline, the
labour of penitence, cheerful obedience, self-denial,
and the patient enduring of any affliction for the
sake of Christ, will contribute to raise a pleasing
confidence of dying well.

5. While thy mind is invigorated by the health
of thy body, thou wilt be able to do much towards
thy purification ; but when it is oppressed and de-
bilitated by sickness, I know not what thou canst
do. Few spirits are made better by the pain and
languor of sickness; as few great pilgrims become
eminent saints.

6. Let not the example of thy friends and rela-
tions, nor any confidence in the superiority of their
wisdom, influence thee to defer the care of thy sal-
vation to a future time ; for aU men, even thy friends
and relations will forget thee much sooner than thou
supposest. It is better to " provide oil for thy
lamp" now, before it is wanted, than to depend upon
receiving it from others "when the bridegroom
Cometh :" for if thou art not careful of thyself now,
who can be careful of thee hereafter, when tmie and
opportunity are for ever lost ? This instant. Now,
is exceedingly precious : now is " the accepted time,

113

now is the day of salvation." How deplorable,
therefore, is it, not to improve this invaluable mo-
ment, in which we may lay hold on eternal life ! A
time will come, when thou shalt wish for one day,
nay one hour, to repent in ; and who can tell whe-
ther thou wilt be able to obtain it?

7. Awake then, dearest brother, and behold from
what inconceivable danger thou mayest now deliver
thyself; from what horrible fear thou mayest now
be rescued, only by "passing the time of thy so-
journing in holy fear," and in continual expectation
of thy removal by death. Endeavour now to Hve
in such a manner, that in that awful moment thou
mayest rejoice rather than fear. Learn now to die
to the world, that thou mayest then begin to live
with Christ : learn now to despise all created things,
that being delivered from every encumbrance, thou
mayest then freely rise to him. Now subdue thy
earthly and conniptible body by penitence and self-
denial, that then thou mayest enjoy the glorious
hope of exchanging it for a spiritual and immortal
body, in the resurrection of the just.

8. Ah fooUsh man ! why dost thou still flatter
thyself with the expectation of a long Kfe, when
thou canst not be secure of a single day? How
many unhappy souls, deluded by this hope, are in
some unexpected moment separated from the body !
How often dost thou hear, that one is slain, another
is drowned, another by falhng from a precipice has
broken his neck, another is choked in eating, ano-
ther has dropped down dead in the exercise of some
favourite diversion ; and tliat thousands, indeed, are

114

daily perishing, by fire, by sword, by the plague, or j
by the violence of robbers ! Thus is death com-
mon to every age ; and man suddenly passeth away
as a vision of the night.

9. Who will remember thee after death, who will ;
then pray for thee, and whose prayer can then avail
thee ? Now, therefore, dearest brother, now turn
to God, and do whatever his Holy Spirit enables
thee to perform ; for thou knowest not the hour in
which death will seize thee, nor canst thou conceive
the consequences of his seizing thee unprepared.
Now, while the time of gathering riches is in much
mercy continued, lay up for thyself the substantial
and unperishing treasures of heaven. Think of
nothing but the business of thy redemption ; be care-
ful for nothing but the improvement of thy state in
God. Now "make to thyself friends" of the re-
generated and glorified sons of God, that when thy
present life " shall fail, they may receive thee into
everlasting habitations."

10. Live in the world as a stranger and pilgrim,
who hath no concern with its business or pleasures ;
and knowing that thou hast "here no continuinir
city," keep tliy heart disengaged from earthly pas-
sions and pursuits, and lifted up to heaven in the
patient "hope of a city that is to come, whose
builder and maker is God." Thither let thy daily
prayers, and sighs, and tears, be directed ; that after
death tliy spirit may be wafted to the Lord, and
united to him for ever. Amen.

115

CHAPTER XXIV.

Of the Last Judgment^ and the Punishment of
Sinners. .

1. In all thy thoughts and desires, thy actions
and pursuits, " have respect to the end ;" and con-
sider how thou wait appear before that awful Judge,
from whom nothing is hidden, who is not to be per-
verted by bribes, nor softened by excuses, but in-
variably judgeth righteous judgment. O most
wretched and foolish sinner, thou who tremblest be-
fore the face of an angry man that is ignorant in all
things ! what wilt thou be able to answer unto God,
who knoweth all thy sins, and searcheth the lowest
depths of the evil that is in thee ? Why lookest
thou not forward, and preparest thyself for the day
of his righteous judgment, in which one man cannot
possibly be excused or defended by another, but
every one will have as much as he can answer, in
answerino; for himself?

2. The patient man hath in this world a true and
salubrious purification; who, when he is injured, is
more grieved for the sin of the offender, than for
the wrong that is done to himself; who can ardently
pray for his enemies, and from his heart forgive their
offences; who feels no reluctance to ask forgiveness
of others ; who is sooner moved to compassion than
provoked to anger; who constantly denies his own
will, and endeavours to bring the body into absolute

116

and total subjection to the spirit. And it is surely
good to purge away sin by continual repentance,
and to break off evil habits by continual resistance,
in the present life. But through an inordinate love
for the indulgences of corrupt flesh and blood, we
deceive ourselves into total ignorance and negligence
with respect to all the interests of our immortal
spirits.

3. The more thou now indulgest thyself, and
gratifiest the desires of the flesh, the more severe
must be thy future suffering, and the more fuel dost
thou heap up as food for that Are. The pains of
that tremendous state will arise from the nature and
degree of every man's sin. There the spiritual
sluggard shall be incessantly urged with burning
stings, and the glutton tortured with inconceivable
hunger and thirst; there the luxurious and volup-
tuous shall be overwhelmed with waves of flamini:
pitch, and offensive sulphur; and the envious, with
the pain of disappointed malignity, shall howl like
mad dogs; the proud shall be filled with shame; and
the covetous straitened in inexpressible want. One
hour of torment there will be more insupportable,
than a hundred years of the severest penance in this
life. There no respite of pain, no consolation of
sorrow can be found ; while here some intermission
of labour, some comfort from holy friends, is not
incompatible with the most rigorous discipline.

4. Be now, therefore, solicitous for thy redemp-
tion, and afflicted for the sins that oppose it, that
in the day of judgment thou mayest stand securely
among the blessed; for, "then shall the righteous

117

man stand in great boldness before the face of such
as have afflicted and oppressed him." Then shall
he rise up in judgment, who now meekly submits
to the judgment of others: then the humble and
poor in spirit shall have great confidence, and the
proud shall be encompassed with fear on every side :
then it will be evident to all, that he was wise in
this world, who had learned to be despised as a fool
for the love of Christ : then the remembrance of
tribulation patiently endured shall become sweet, and
" all iniquity shall stop her mouth :" then every de-
vout man shall rejoice, and every impious man shall
mourn: then shall the mortified and subdued flesh
triumph over that which was pampered in ease and
indulgence ; the coarse garment shall shine, and the
soft raiment lose all its lustre ; and the homely cot-
tage shall be more extolled than the gilded palace :
then constant patience shall give that stability, which
the power of the world could not confer : then sim-
ple obedience shall be more highly prized than refined
subtlety, and a pure conscience more than learned
philosophy : then the contempt of riches shall be of
more value than all the treasures of worldly men ;
then shalt thou have greater comfort from having
prayed devoutly every day, than from having fared
deliciously; and shalt more rejoice that thou hast
kept silence long, than that thou hadst talked much :
then works of holiness shall avail thee more than
the multitude of fine words : then a life of self-denial
shall give thee more satisfaction than all earthly de-
lights could bestow.

5. Learn, therefore, now to suffer under afflic-

118

tions comparatively light, that thou mayest then be
delivered from sufferings so grievous. Here thou
mayest first make trial, how much there thou wilt
be able to sustain : for if thou art able to bear but
little now, how wilt thou then bear such amazing
and lasting torments? If only a slight suffering
make thee so impatient now, what will the rage of
hell do then ? Behold and consider ! thou canst
not have a double paradise: thou canst not enjoy a
life of dehght and pleasure upon earth, and after-
wards reign with Christ in heaven.

6. If to this very day thou hadst lived in honour
and pleasure, what would it avail, if thou art to die
the next moment? All, therefore, is vanity but
the love of God, and a life devoted to his will. He
that loveth God mth all his heart, fears neither
death, nor punishment, nor judgment, nor hell ; be-
cause " perfect love casteth out fear," and openeth
a sure and immediate access to the divine presence.
But it is no wonder, that he, who still loves and
delights in sin, should fear both death and judgment.
Yet, however, it might be well, if thou art not to be
withheld from sin by the love of God, that thou
shouldst at least be restrained from it by fear ; for
he that casts behind him the fear of an offended
God, cannot possibly persevere in any thing that is
good, but must run precipitately into every snare of
the devil.

119

CHAPTER XXV.
Of Zeal in the total Reformation of Life.

I. Be watchful and diligent in the service of
God; and frequently recollect, that thou hast left
the broad way of the world, and entered into the
narrow path of holiness, that thou mightest live to
God, and become a spiritual man. With increas-
ing ardour, therefore " press" continually " towards
the mark," and ere long thou wilt receive " the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus;"
when there shall be " no more fear nor sorrow, for
God will wipe all tears from our eyes," and take
away all trouble from our hearts. Thus will a short
life of inconsiderable labour be exchanged for an
everlasting life, not only of perfect rest, but of in-
creasing joy. If thou continuest faithful and dili-
gent in labouring, God doubtless will be faithful
and rich in recompensing. Thou mayest, therefore,
maintain a comfortable hope, that in the end thou
shalt inherit a crown of victoiy — only beware of se-
curity, lest it betray thee into sloth or presumption.

2. A certain person deeply perplexed about the
state of his soul, and continually fluctuating between
hope and fear, came one day to a church, over-
whelmed with grief; and prostrating himself before
the altar, repeatedly uttered this wish in his heart :
" O that I certainly knew I should be able to per-
severe !" Immediately the divine voice speaking

120

within him, answered thus: " And what wouldst thou
do, if this certain knowledge was bestowed upon
thee? Do now, that which thou wouldst then do,
and rest secure of thy perseverance." Comforted
and established by this answer, he resigned himself
to the divine disposal, and his perplexity and distress
were soon removed. Instead of indulging anxious
inqumes into the future condition of his soul, he
appHed himself wholly to know what was " the good
and acceptable will of God," as the only principle
and perfection of every good work. " Trust in the
Lord, and do good," saith the royal prophet; " so
shalt thou dwell in the land, and be fed with the
riches of his grace."

3. The principal obstacle to the reformation and
improvement of life, is the dread of the difficulty
and labour of the contest. And it is true that they
only make the most eminent advances in holiness,
who resolutely endeavour to conquer in those things
that are most disagreeable and most opposite to their
appetites and desires; and then chiefly does a man
most advance, and obtain higher degrees of the grace
of God, when he most overcomes himself, and most
mortifies his own spirit.

4. But though all men have not the same degree
of evil to overcome; yet a diligent Christian, zea-
lous of good works, who has more and stronger pas-
sions to subdue, will be able to make a greater pro-
gress than he that is inwardly calm, and outwardly
regular, but less fervent in the pursuit of holiness.

5. Two things are highly useful to perfect amend-
ment ; to withdraw from those sinful gratifications

121

to which nature is most inclined, and to labour after
that virtue in which wc are most deficient. Be par-
ticularly careful also to avoid chiefly those tempers
and actions that chiefly and most frequently displease
thee in others. Wherever thou art, turn every
thing to an occasion of improvement : if thou be-
holdest or hearest of good examples, let them kindle
in thee an ardent desire of imitation; if thou seest
any thing blameable, beware of doing it thyself; or
if thou hast done it, endeavour to amend it the
sooner. As thy eye observeth, and thy judgment
censureth others, so art thou observed and censured
by them.

6. If it is good and pleasant to behold brethren
in the same rehgious society, full of fervour and
devotion in spirit, modest, courteous, and submissive
in their outward deportment ; it must be proportion-
ably grievous and offensive, to find among them a
dissolute and inordinate life, totally repugnant to the
obhgations of that holy state which all have freely
chosen. How dangerous and hurtful is it, to forget
the nature and design of so great a salvation, and
turn all the thoughts and desires of the heart to that
which is not only foreign to it, but its greatest enemy,
a sensual and worldly life !

7. Be mindful, therefore, of that holy vocation
with which thou hast been called, and keep conti-
nually impressed upon thy mind the image of the
crucified Jesus. Thou wilt find abundant reason to
be ashamed and confounded, when, after considering
the life of Christ, thou reviewest thy own, which,
though thou hast long professed the imitation of that

F 1

122

blessed Exemplar, thou hast yet taken so little care
to make conformable to it. He that intently and
devoutly exercises himself in the most holy life and
passion of his Lord, will find all that is useful and
necessary to his redemption, in such great abundance,
that he need not seek after any thing out of, or bet-
ter than Jesus. O ! if Jesus crucified would come
into our hearts, how soon and how sufficiently should
we be taught.

8. The zealous and watchful Christian bears
patiently, and performs cheerfully, whatever is com-
manded him : but he that is cold and negligent suf-
fers tribulation upon tribulation, and of all men is
most miserable; for he is destitute of inward and
spiritual comfort, and to that which is outward and
carnal, he is forbidden to have recoiurse. He that
obstinately throws off the restraints of " Christ's
easy yoke," is not only in danger of irrecoverable
ruin, but will find himself deceived in the expecta^
tion of a life of relaxation and liberty; for restraint,
oppression, and disgust, will perpetually arise, wher-
ever he turns the imaginations and desires of his
heart.

9. But do thou consider the example of those,
who have voluntarily submitted to the severest dis-
cipline ; who live in a state of total abstraction from
the pleasures and cares of animal life ; who go abroad
seldom, eat sparingly, clothe coarsely, labour much,
talk little, watch late, rise early, pray long, read
often, and always keep their spuit under the re-
straint of some holy exercise. Consider also the
spiritual and divine life of the apostles and first fol-

123

lowers of Christ, as the object of thy imitation; and
doubt not but the mercy of God, to all that turn the
desire of their heart to Him, will enable thee to
follow it. In this path, thou mayest go forward,
with increasing hope and strength ; and, in this path,
thou wilt approach heaven with such speedy steps, as
soon to despise and forget all human strength, conso-
lation, and dependence.

10. Would to God that we had no other employ-
ment, but with heart and voice to glorify his holy
name ! that we never stood in need of meat, drink,
or sleep, but could always praise God, and attend to
the illuminating and purifying influences of his Holy
Spirit ! The blessedness of the divine life would
not then be interrupted, as it is now, by the numerous
infirmities and necessities of the body. O that these
necessities were wholly removed ; and we had nothing
to hunger after, but those spiritual refreshments
which we now so seldom taste !

11. When a man is so far advanced in the Chris-
tian life, as not to seek consolation from any created
thing, then doth he first begin perfectly to enjoy
God; then, " in whatever state he is, he will there-
with be content;" then neither doth prosperity exalt,
nor adversity depress him; but his heart is wholly
fixed and estabhshed in God, who is his All in All ;
with respect to whom, nothing perisheth, nothing
dieth ; but all things live to his glory, and are con-
tinually subservient to his blessed will.

12. Be always mindful of the great enci of tem-
porary nature; and remember, that time once lost,
will never return. Without perpetual watchfulness

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124

and diligence, holiness can never be attained; for
the moment thou beginnest to relax in these, thou
wilt feel inward imbecility, disorder, and disquietude.
But if thou press forward with unabated fervour,
thou shalt find strength and peace; and, through
the mercy of God, and that love of holiness which
his grace hath inspired, wilt perceive " thy yoke"
become daily " more easy, and thy burden more
light." Reflect, that it is only the fervent and dili-
gent soul that is prepared for all duty and for all
events ; that it is greater toil to resist evil habits and
violent passions, than to sweat at the hardest bodily
labour; that he who is not careful to resist and sub-
due small sins, will insensibly fall into greater ; and
that thou shalt always have joy in the evening, if
thou hast spent the day well. Watch over thyself,
therefore ; excite and admonish thyself; and what-
ever is done by others, do not neglect thyself. Thou
wilt make greater advances in imitating the life of
Christ, in proportion to the greater violence with
which thou deniest thyself. Amen.

BOOK SECOND.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MORE INTIMATE
ENJOYMENT OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE.

THE

IMITATION OF CHRIST.

BOOK SECOND.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MORE INTIMATE EN.
JOYMENT OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE,

CHAPTER I.

Of Internal Conversation.

1. " The kingdom of God is within you," saith
our blessed Redeemer. Abandon, therefore, the
cares and pleasures of this wretched world, and turn
to the Lord with all thy heart, and thy soul shall
find rest. If thou withdrawest thy attention from
outward things, and keepest it fixed upon what
passeth within thee, thou wilt soon perceive the
" coming of the kingdom of God;" for " the king-
dom of God" is that <^ peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost," which cannot be received by sensual and
worldly men. Christ will come to thee, and bless
thee with the splendour of his presence, if thou
preparest within thee an abode fit to receive him :
all his glory and beauty are manifested withLn, and

128

there he delights to dwell; his visits there are fre-
quent, his condescension amazing, his conversation
sweet, his comforts refreshing, and the peace that he
brings passeth all understanding.

2. O faithful soul, dispose thy heart for the re-
ception of this Bridegroom, who will not fail to ful-
fil the promise which he hath made thee in these
words : " If a man love me, he will keep my words ;
and my Father will love him ; and we will come un-
to him, and make our abode with him." Give,
therefore, free admission to Christ, and exclude all
others as intruders. When thou possessest Christ,
thou art rich, and canst want no other treasure : he
will protect thee so pow^erfully, and provide for thee
so liberally, that thou wilt not any more have need
to depend upon the caprice of men. Men are
chancreable and evanescent as " the mornincp cloud :"
hut Christ abideth eternally, and in him the foun-
tain of strength and peace will flow for ever.

3. Thou must not place any confidence in frail
and mortal men, however endeared by reciprocal af-
fection or offices of kindness : nor art thou to be
grieved, when, from some change in their temper,
they become unfriendly and injurious; for men are
inconstant as the wind, and he that is for thee to-day
may to-morrow be against thee. But place thy
whole confidence in God, and let him be all thy fear,
and all thy love : he will answer for thee against the
great accuser, and do that which is most conducive
to thy deliverance from evil.

4. Here thou hast " no continuing city;" and
whatever be thy situation, tliou art " a stranger and

129

a pilgrim,*' and canst never obtain rest till thou art
united to Christ. Why then dost thou stand gaz-
ing about the earth, when the earth is not the seat
of thy repose? Thy dwelling-place is in heaven,
and earthly objects are only to be transiently viewed
as thou returnest to it : they are all hurried away
in the resistless current of time, and thy earthly
life together with them: beware, therefore, of ad-
hering to them, lest thou be bound captive in their t
chains, and perish in their ruin. Let thy thoughts
dwell with the most High, and thy desire and prayer
ascend without intermission to Chnst.

5. When thou art not able to contemplate the
high mysteries of redemption, and the wonders of the
glorified state, think on the passion of Christ, and
let thy soul dwell securely in his most holy wounds :
for if, in the severest tribulation, thou canst devoutly
fly for refuge to the wounds and stripes of Jesus, thou
wilt find abundant strength and comfort ; and wilt be
so far from being disturbed by the contempt of pride,
that thou wilt bear with meekness and tranquillity,
the most envenomed shafts of calumny.

6. Christ was rejected of men; and, in the ex-
tremity of distress, forsaken by his disciples and
friends. Christ chose to suffer thus, and to be thus
deserted and despised; and dost thou complain of
injury and contempt from others ? Christ had
enemies and slanderers; and wilt thou have all men
to be thy friends and admirers ? How can thy par
tience be crowned in heaven, if thou wilt have no
adversity to struggle with on earth? Canst thou
be the friend and follower of Christ, and not the

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130

partaker of his sufferings? Thou must, therefore,
suffer with Christ, and for his sake, if thou indeed
desirest to reign with him.

7. If thou hadst but once " known the fellowship
of the sufferings of Jesus," and been sensible, though
in a small degree, of the divine ardour of his love,
thou wouldst be wholly indifferent about thy own
personal share in the good and evil of the present
life ; and far from courting the favour and applause
of men, wouldst rather rejoice to meet with their re-
proach and scorn : for the love of Jesus hath the
peculiar virtue of making the soul in which it dwells,
utterly despise itself. He that loves Jesus, who is
the Truth, as the Saviour within him, and is de-
livered from the slavery of inordinate desire, can
always freely turn to God; and raising himself in
spirit above himself, enjoy some portion of the blessed
repose of heaven.

8. That man is truly wise, and taught not of
men, but of God, who perceiveth and judgeth of
things as they are in themselves, and not as they
are distinguished by names and general estimation.
He that has known the power of the spiritual life,
and withdrawn his attention from the perishing in-
terests of the world, requires neither time nor place
for the exercise of devotion : he can soon recollect
himself, because he is never wholly engaged by sen-
sible objects; his tranquilhty is not interrupted by
bodily labour or inevitable business, but with calm-
ness and composure he accommodates himself to all
events as they take place ; he is not moved by the
capricious humours and perverse behaviour of men ;

131

and his constant experience has convinced him, that
the soul is no further obstructed and disturbed in its
progress towards perfection, than as it is under the
power and influence of the present Hfe.

9. If the frame of thy spirit was in right order,
and thou wert inwardly pure, all outward things
would conduce to thy improvement in hohness, and
work together for thy everlasting good : and because
thou art now disgusted by a thousand objects, and
disturbed by a thousand events, it is evident, that
thou art not yet " crucified to the world, nor the
world to thee."

10. Nothing entangles and defiles the heart of
man so much, as the inordinate and impure love of
the creatures : but if thou canst abandon the hope
of consolation in the enjoyments of earthly and sen-
sual life, thou wilt soon be able to contemplate the
glory and blessedness of the heavenly state; and
wilt frequently partake of that spiritual consolation*
which the world can neither give nor take away.

CHAPTER II.

Of humble Submission to Reproof and Shame.

1. Regard not much what man is for thee, nor
what against thee; but let it be thy principal care
and concern, that God may be with thee in every
purpose and action of thy life. Keep thy conscience
pure, and God will be thy continual defence; and

132

him whom God defends, the malice of man hath no
power to hurt. If thou hast learned to suffer in
silent and persevering patience, thou shalt certainly
see the salvation of the Lord : he knoweth the pro-
perest season of thy deliverance, and will administer
the most effectual means to accomplish it ; and to his
blessed will thou shouldest always be absolutely resign-
ed. It is the prerogative of God, to give help under
every trouble, and deliverance from all dishonour.

2. It is useful for preserving the humility of our
spirit, that other men should know and should reprove
our manifold transgressions : and 'in cases of injury
among brethren, the more humble the acknowledg-
ment of the offence is, the more effectually will the
offended person be appeased and reconciled.

3. The humble man God protects and delivers;
the humble he loves and comforts; to the humble
he condescends; on the humble he bestows more
abundant measures of his grace, and after his humi-
liation exalts him to glory; to the humble he reveals
the mysteries of redemption, and sweetly invites and
powerfully draws him to himself. The humble man,
though surrounded with the scorn and reproach of
the world, is still in peace; for the stability of his
peace resteth not upon the world, but upon God.

4. Do not think that thou hast made any pro-
gress towards perfection, till thou fcelest that thou
art " less than the least of all" human beinijs.^

* As a demand so mortifying to the pride of human virtue,
will be more generally ascribed to the influence of the malig-
nant gloom of a cloister, than to the dictates of the Spirit of
Truth ; .1 have selected the following passage from " The Rev.

133

CHAPTER III.

Of Peacefuhiess.

1. Thou must first secure the peace of thy own
breast, before thou wilt be quahfied to restore peace

Mr. La-w's Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Lifej" in which
the obligations to the humility here required, are considered
upon right principles, and determined with a power of demon-
stration peculiar to the wi'itings of that excellent Divine : —

" After this general consideration of the guilt of sin, vrhich
has done so much mischief to your nature, and exposed it to
so great punishment ; and made it so odious to God, that no-
thing less than so great an atonement of the Son of God, and
so great repentance of our own, can restore us to the divine
favour :

" Consider next your own particular share in the guilt of sin.
And if you would know with what zeal you ought to repent
yourself, consider how you would exhort another sinner to re-
pentance ; and what repentance and amendment you would
expect from him, whom you judged to be the greatest sinner
in the world.

" Now this case every man may justly reckon to be his own.
And you may fairly look upon yourself to be the greatest sinner
that you know in the world.

" For though you may know abundance of people to be guilty
of some gross sins, with which you cannot charge yourself; yet
you may justly condemn yourself as the greatest sinner that you
know. And that for these following reasons : —

" First, because you know more of the folly of your own heart,
than you do of other peoples ; and can charge yourself \>ith va-
rious sins, that you only know of yourself, and cannot be sure
that other sinners are guilty of tliera. So that as you know
more of the folly, the baseness, the pride, the deceitfulness, and
negligence of your own heart, than you do of any one's else, so
you have just reason to consider yourself as the greatest sinner
that you know : because you know more of the greatness of
your own sins than you do of other peoples.

" Secondly, the greatness of our guilt arises chiefly from the
greatness of God's goodness towards us; from the particular

134

to others, Peacefulness is a more useful acquisi-
tion than learning. The wrathful and turbulent

graces and blessings, the favours, the lights, and instructions
that we have received from him.

" Now as these graces and blessings, and the multitude of
God's favours towards us, are the great aggravations of our sins
against God, so they are only known to ourselves. And, there-
fore, every sinner knows more of the aggravations of his own
guilt, than he does of other peoples j and consequently may
justly look upon himself to be the greatest sinner that he knows.

" How good God has been to other sinners, what light and in-
struction he has vouchsafed to them ; what blessings and graces
they have received from him ; how often he has touched their
hearts with holy inspirations ; you cannot tell. But all this vou
know of yourself: therefore you know greater aggravations of
your own guilt, and are able to charge yourself with greater in-
gratitude than you can charge upon other people,

" And this is the reason why the greatest saints have in all
ages condemned themselves as the greatest sinners ; because
they knew some aggravations of their own sins, which they
could not know of other peoples.

" The right way, therefore, to fill your heart with true con-
trition, and a deep sense of your own sins, is this : you are not
to consider or compare tlie outAvard form, or course of your
life, with that of other peoples ; and then think yourself to be
less sinful than they, because the outward course of your life
is less sinful than theirs.

" But, in order to know your own guilt, you must consider
your own particular circumstances ; your health, your sickness,
your youth or age, your particular calling, the happiness of your
education, the degrees of light and instruction that you have
received, the good men that you have conversed with, the admo-
nitions that you have had, the good books that you have read,
the numberless multitude of divine blessings, graces, and fa-
vours that you have received, the good motions of grace that
you have resisted, the resolutions of amendment that you have
often broken, and the checks of conscience that you have dis-
regarded.

" For it is from these circumstances that every one is to state
the measure and greatness of his own guilt. And as you know
only these circumstances of your OAvn sins, so you must neces-
sarily know how to charge yourself with higher degrees of guilt,
than you can charge upon other people. God Almighty knows
greater sinners, it may be, than you are ; because he sees and
knows the circumstances of all men's sins ; but your own heart.

135

Dian, who is always ready to impute wrong, turneth
even good into evil; the peaceful man turneth all

if it is faithful to you, can discover no guilt so great as your
own ; because it can only see in you those circumstances, on
which great part of the guilt of sin is founded.

" You may see sins in other people, that you cannot charge
upon yourself; but then you know a number of circumstances
of your own guilt, that you cannot lay to their charge.

" And perhaps, that person that appears at such a distance
from your virtue, and so odious in your eyes, would have been
much better than you are, had he been altogether in your cir-
cumstances, and received all the same favours and graces from
God that you have.

" This is a very humbling reflection, and very proper for those
people to make, who measure their virtue by comparing the
outward course of their lives with that of other peoples. For
look at whom you will, however different from you in his way
of life, yet you can never know that he has resisted so much
divine grace as you have ; or that, in all your circumstances, he
would not have been much truer to his duty than you are.

" Now this is the reason why I desired you to consider, how
you would exliort that man to confess and bewail his sins, whom
you looked upon to be one of the greatest sinners. Because, if
you will deal justly, you must fix the charge at home, and look
no farther than yourself. For God has given no one any power
of knowing the true greatness of any sins but his own : and,
tlierefore, the greatest sinner that every one knows, is himself.

" You may easily see how such a one, in the outward course
of his life, breaks the law of God ; but then you can never say,
that had you been exactly in all his circumstances, you should
not have broken them more than he has done.

" A serious and frequent reflection upon these things, will
mightily tend to humble us in our own eyes ; make us very ap-
prehensive of the greatness of our own guilt ; and very tender
in censuring and condemning other people. For who would
dare to be severe against other people, when, for aught he can
tell, the severity of God may be more due to him than to them ?
Who would exclaim against the guilt of others, when he con-
siders tliat he knows more of the greatness of his own guilt,
than he does of theirs ?

" How often you have resisted God's Holy Spirit ; how many
motives to goodness you have disregarded ; how many particular
blessings you have sinned against ; how many good resolutions
you have broken ; how many checks and admonitions of con-
science you have stifled ; you very well know : but how often

136

things into good. He that is estabhshed in peace,
is exempt from suspicion; but he that is discon-
tented and proud, is tormented with jealousy of every
kind : he has no rest himself, and he will not allow
rest to others ; he speaketh what he ought to sup-
press, and suppresseth what he ought to speak; he
is watchful in observing the duty of others, and to-
tally negligent with respect to his own. But let
thy zeal be exercised in thy own reformation, before
it attempts the reformation of thy neighbour,

2. Thou art very skilful and ingenious in pal-
hating and excusing thy own evil actions, but canst
not frame an apology for the actions of others, nor
admit it when it is offered by themselves. It would,
however, be more just, always to excuse thy brother,
and accuse thyself. If thou desirest to be borne
with, thou must bear also with others. O consider,
at what a dreadful distance thou standest from that
charity which "hopeth, believeth, and beareth all
things;" and from that humility which, in a truly
contrite heart, knoweth no indignation nor resent-
ment against any being but itself.

3. It is so far from being difficult to live in peace
with the gentle and the good, that it is highly grate-
ful to all that are inclined to cultivate peace ; for we

this has been the case of other sinners, you know not. And,
therefore, the greatest sinner that you know must be yourself.
" Whenever, therefore, you are angry at sin or sinners, when-
ever you read or think of God's indignation and wrath at wicked
men ; let this teach you to be the most severe in your censure,
and most humble and contrite in the acknowledgment and con-
fession of your own sins ; because you know of no sinner equal
to yourself." — Law's Serious Call to a Devout and Hoi// Ufe.

137

naturally love those most, whose sentiments and dis-
positions correspond most with our own : but to
maintain peace with the churlish and perverse, the
irregular and impatient, and those that most contra-
dict and oppose our opinions and desire, is an heroic
and glorious attainment, which only an extraordinary
measure of grace can enable us to acquire.

4. But there are some that preserve the peace of
their own breasts, and live in peace with all about
them : and there are some, that, having no peace in
themselves, are continually employed in disturbing
the peace of others; they are the tormentors of
their brethren, and still more the tormentors of
their own hearts : there are also some, who not only
retain their own peace, but make it their principal
business to restore peace to all that want it. After
all, however, the most perfect peace to which we can
attain in this miserable life, consists rather in meek
and patient suffering, than in an exemption from
adversity; and he that has most learned to suffer,
will certainly possess the greatest share of peace : he
is the conqueror of himself, the lord of the world,
the friend of Christ, and the heir of heaven !

CHAPTER IV.

Of Simplicity and Purity,

1. Simplicity and purity are the two wings
with which man soars above the earth and all tern-

138

porary nature. Simplicity is in the intention, purity
in the affection: simpUcity turns to God; purity
unites with and enjoys him.

2. No good action would be difficult and painful,
if thou wert free from inordinate affection : and this
internal freedom thou wilt then enjoy, when it is
the one simple intention of thy mind to obey the
will of God, and do good to thy fellow-creatures.

3. If thy heart was rightly disposed, every crea-
ture would be a book of divine knowledge ; a mirror
of hfe, in which thou mightest contemplate the eter-
nal power and beneficence of the Author of Life;
for there is no creature, however small and abject,
that is not a monument of the goodness of God.

4. Such as is the frame of the spirit, such is its
perception and judgment of outward things. If
thou hadst simplicity and piurity, thou wouldst be
able to comprehend all things without error, and be-
hold them without danger : the pure heart safely
pervades, not only heaven, but hell.

5. If there be joy in this world, who possesses it
more than the pure in heart? And if there be
tribulation and anguish, who suffers them more than
the wounded spirit ?

6. As iron cast into the fire is purified from its
rust, and becomes bright as the fire itself; so the
soul that in simphcity and purity turns and adheres
to God, is delivered from the corruption of animal
nature, and changed into the "new man;" formed
" after the image of him who created him."

7. Those who suffer the desire of perfection to
grow cold and languid, are terrified at the most in-

139

considerable difficulties, and soon driven back to seek
consolation in the enjoyments of sensual life : but
those, in whom that desire is kept alive and invigo-
rated by continual self-denial, and a steady perseve-
rance in that narrow path in which Christ has called
us to follow him, find every step they take more and
more easy, and feel those labours light that were
once thought insurmountable.

CHAPTER V.

Of Personal Attention.

1. We ought to place but Httle confidence in
ourselves, because we are often destitute both of
grace and understanding. The light we have is
small, and that is soon lost by neghgence. We
are even insensible of this inward darkness ; we do
wrong, and aggravate our guilt by excusing it; we
are impelled by passion, and mistake it for zeal;
we severely reprove little failings in our brethren,
and pass over enormous sins in ourselves ; we quickly
feel, and perpetually brood over, the sufferings that
are brought upon us by others, but have no thought
of what others suffer from us. If, however, a man
would but truly and impartially examine himself, he
would find but little cause to judge severely of his
neighbour.

2. The spiritual man prefers, to all other cares,
the care of his own improvement; and he that is

140

strictly watchful over liis own conduct, will easily
be silent about the conduct of others. But to the
divine life of the spiritual man thou wilt never at-
tain, unless thou canst withdraw thy attention from
all persons, and the concerns of all, and fix it wholly
upon thyself. He that purely and simply intends
and desires the re-union of his soul with God, will
not easily be moved by what he hears or sees in the
world.

3. Tell me, if thou canst, where thou hast been
wandering, when thou art absent from thy own
breast ; and after thou hast run about, and taken a
hasty view of the actions and affairs of men, what
advantage bringest thou home to thy neglected and
forsaken self? He that desires peace of heart, and
re-union with the divine nature, must cast all per-
sons and things behind him, and keep God and his
own spirit only in his view.

4. As thy progress to perfection depends much
upon thy freedom from the cares and pleasures of
the world, it must be proportionably obstructed by
whatever degree of value they have in thy affections.
Abandon, therefore, all hope of consolation from
created things, not only as vain but dangerous ; and
esteem nothing honourable, nothing pleasing, no-
thing great and worthy the desire of an immortal
spirit, but God, and that which immediately tends
to the improvement of thy state in him. The soul
that truly loves God, despises all that is inferior to
God. It is God alone, the Infinite and Eternal,
who filleth all things, that is the life, light, and
peace, of all blessed spirits.

Ill

CHAPTER VI.

Of the Joy of a Good Conscience.

1. The "rejoicing" of a good man is "the tes-
timony of his conscience." A pure conscience is
the ground of perpetual exaltation ; it will support a
man under the severest trials, and enable him to re-
joice in the depths of adversity; but an evil con-
science, in every state of hfe, is full of disquietude
and fear. Thou wilt always enjoy tranquilHty, if
thy heart condemn thee not.

2. Do not hope to rejoice, but when thou hast
done well. The wicked cannot have true joy, nor
taste of inward peace; for " there is no peace to the
wicked," saith the Lord; "but they are like the
troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast
up mire and dirt." If they say, " We are in
peace ; no evil shall come upon us ; and who will
dare to hurt us ?" believe them not : for the anger
of the Lord will suddenly rise up within them ; and
their boasting shall vanish Hke smoke, and the
thoughts of their heart shall perish.

3. To "glory in tribulation," is not difficult to
him that loveth ; for thus to glory, is " to glory in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." That glory
is short and painful, which is given and received
among men ; it comes with fear and envy, and va-
nishes in disappointment and regret. The glory of
the just is proclaimed by the voice of conscience, and

142

not by tDe mouth of men ; their joy is from God,
and in God ; and their rejoicing is founded in truth.
He that aspires after true and eternal glory, values
not that which is temporal; and he that seeketh af-
ter the temporal glory of the earth, or that does
not despise it from his heart, proves that he neither
loves nor considers the eternal glory of heaven.

4. He only can have great tranquillity, whose
happiness depends not on the praise or dispraise
of men. If thy conscience was pure, thou wouldst
be contented in every condition, and undisturbed
by the opinions and reports of men concerning thee ;
for their commendations can add nothing to thy hoh-
ness, nor their censures take any thing from it : what
thou art, thou art ; nor can the praise of the whole
world make thee greater in the sight of God. Tlie
more, therefore, thy attention is fixed upon the true
state of thy spirit, the less wilt thou regard what is
said of thee in the world. Men look only on the
face, but God " looketh on and searcheth the heart ;"
men consider only the outward act, but God the
inward principle from which it springs.

5. To think of having done well without self-
esteem, is an evidence of true humility ; as it is of
great inward purity and faith, to abandon the hope
of consolation from created things. He that seeketh
not a witness for him.self among men, shows that he
has committed his whole state to God, the witness
in his own breast: for it is "not he who com-
mendeth himself,'^ nor he who is commended by
others, that "is approved;" but him only, saith the
blessed Paul, " whom God commendeth."

143

6. To walk in the presence of God manifested
in the heart, and not to be enslaved by anv worldly
affection, is the state of the internal man.

CHAPTER VII.
Of the Love of Jesus above all.

1. Blessed is the man who knoweth what it is
to love Jesus, and for his sake to despise himself.
To preserve this love, thou must reUnquish the love
of thyself and all creatures ; for Jesus will be loved
alone. The love of the creatures is deceitful and
unstable ; the love of Jesus is faithful and permanent.
He that adhereth to any creature, must fail when
the creature faileth ; but he that adhereth to Jesus,
will be established with him for ever. Love him
and cherish his love, who, though the heavens and
the earth should be dissolved, will not forsake thee,
nor suffer thee to perish. Thou must one day be
separated from all that thou scest and lovest among
created things, whether thou wilt or not : living and
dpng, therefore, adhere to Jesus, and securely com-
mit thyself to his faithful protection, who, when all
temporal nature fails, is alone able to sustain thee.

2. Such is the purity of thy Beloved, that he will
admit of no rival for thy love ; but will himself have
the sole possession of thy heart, and, like a king,
reign there with sovereign authority, as on his pro-
per tlixone.

144

3. If thv heart was emptied of self-love, and of
the love of creatures whom thou lovest only for thy
own sake, Jesus would dwell with thee continually.
But whatever love thou hast for men, of which
Jesus is not the principle and end, and whatever be
their returns of love to thee, thou wilt find both to
be utterly vain and worthless. O place not thy
confidence in man, lean not upon a hollow reed ! for
" all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as
the flower of grass: the grass withereth, and the
flower thereof falleth away."

4. Of men thou regardest only the outward ap-
pearance, and, therefore, art soon deceived; and
while thou seekest relief and comfort from them,
thou must meet with disappointment and distress.
If in all things thou seekest only Jesus, thou wilt
surely find him in all ; and if thou seekest thyself,
thou wilt, indeed, find thyself, but to thy own de-
struction : for he who in all things seeks not Jesus
alone, involves himself in more evil than the world
and all his enemies could heap upon him.

CHAPTER VIII.

Of the Friendship of Jesus.

1. When Jesus is present, all is well, and no
labour seems difficult; but when he is absent, the
least adversity is found insupportable. When Je-
sus is silent, aU comfort withers away; but the mo-

145

ment he speaks again, though but a single word, tlie
soul rises from her distress, and feels her comfort re-
vive in greater power. Thus Mary rose hastily from
the place where she sat weeping for the death of
Lazarus, when Martha said to her, " The Master is
come, and calleth for thee." Blessed is the hour
when Jesus calls us from affliction and tears, to par-
take of the joys of his Spirit !

2. How great is the aridity and hardness of thy
heart, without Jesus ! how great its vanity and folly,
when it desireth any good but him ! Is not the loss
of him greater than the loss of the world? for what
can the world profit thee, without Jesus? To be
mthout Jesus, is to be in the depths of hell : to be
with him, is to be in Paradise. While Jesus is with
thee, no enemy hath power to hurt thee. He that
findeth Jesus, findeth a treasure of infinite value, a
good transcending all that can be called good; and
he that loseth Jesus, loseth more than the whole
world; for he loseth the heavenly life and light of
his own soul. That man only is poor in this world,
who Hveth without Jesus ; and that man only is rich,
with whom Jesus delights to dwell.

3. It requires great skill to converse with Jesus,
and great wisdom to know how to keep him ; but not
the skill of men, nor the wisdom of this world. Be
humble and peaceful, and Jesus will come to thee;
be devout and meek, and he w4ll dwell with thee.
But thou may est soon drive away Jesus from thy
heart, and lose the grace which he has given thee,
by turning aside to the enjoyments of the world;
and when thou hast driven him away and lost him,

G 1

146

to whom wilt thou then fly, and where wilt thou find
a fiiend ? Without a friend, hfe is unenjoyed ; and
unless Jesus be thy chosen friend, infinitely loved and
preferred above all others, life will be to thee a scene
of desolation and distress. It is madness, therefore,
to place thy confidence and delight in any other : ra-
ther choose that the whole world should combine to
oppose and injure thee, than that Jesus should be
offended at thy preferring the world to him. Of all
that are dear to thee, then, let Jesus be the peculiar
and supreme object of thy love. Men, even those
to whom thou art united by the ties of nature and
the reciprocations of friendship, are to be loved only
for the sake of Jesus : but Jesus is to be loved for
himself: Jesus alone is to be loved without reserve
and without measure; because, of all that we can
possibly love, he alone is infinite in goodness and
faithfulness. For his sake, and in the power of his
love, thy enemies are to be dear to thee, as well as
thy friends : and let it be thy continual prayer for all,
even for thy enemies, that all may be blessed with the
knowledge and love of him.

4. Do not desire to be admired and praised for the
goodness that is in thee, as if it was thy own ; for the
praise of being good is the prerogative of God : his
goodness alone is absolute and underived ; and thou
art good only by the communication of that goodness
which, from eternity to eternity, dwells essentially in
him. Neither desire to engage the affections of any
particular person, nor suffer thy own affections to be
engaged by any: but let it be thy sole wish and joy,
to have Jesus dwell in thy own heart, and the hearts

147

of all others, as the eternal Hfe, light, and peace
of all.

5. Aspire after such inward purity and freedom,
that no affection to any creature may have power to
perplex and enslave thee : thou must have a heart
divested of all selfish affections and earthly desires,
before thou wilt be able in peaceful vacancy, to
« stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord."
Indeed, to this exalted state thou canst not arrive,
without the prevention and attraction of his grace;
which, by delivering thee from all attachment to
created hfe, will bring thee into union with his bles-
sed Spirit, and he will be one with thee, and thou
with him.

6. When the grace of God thus liveth and
reigneth in the heart of man, he hath power to " do
all things ;" but when its divine influence is suspend-
ed, he feels himself left in the poverty and weakness
of fallen nature, exposed to the lash of every afflic-
tion. Yet, in this forlorn and desolate state, thou
must not despair: but with a calm and meek spirit
resign thyself to the divine will, and for the glory
of Christ patiently bear whatever befalls thee; re-
membering, that winter is invariably succeeded by
summer, night by day, and darkness and tempest by-
serenity and sunshine.

G 2

148

CHAPTER IX.
Of the Disconsolate State,

1. It requires no considerable effort to despise
human consolation, when we are possessed of divine :
but it is transcendent greatness, to bear the want of
both; and, without self-condolence, or the least re-
trospection of our own imaginary worth, patiently
to suffer " desolation of heart" for the glory of
God. What singular attainment is it, to be peace-
ful and devout, while " the light of God's counte-
nance is Hfted up upon thee ?" for this is the hour
that all creatures most desire. That man cannot
but find his journey easy and delightful, whom the
grace of God sustains : and what wonder, if he nei-
ther feels burden, nor meets with obstruction, when
he is supported by Omnipotence, and conducted by
Truth?

2. We perpetually seek after consolation, from
the dread of the want of it ; and it is with difficulty
that man is so far divested of self, as not to seek it
in his earthly and selfish state. The holy martyr,
Laurence, overcame the world and himself, in sub-
duing his great affection for his good bishop,
Xystus: for, though all that was delightful to him
in this life, centered in their personal endearments;
yet, with calm resolution, he bore a sudden and vio-
lent separation from him, to which death only could
put an end. By the love of God, therefore, he

149

overcame the love of man, and steadily preferred the
divine will to the comforts of human converse. With
the same patient resignation, must thou also, for the
love of God, learn to part mth thy dearest and most
intimate friend. And some argument against im-
patient sorrow at such events, may be drawn from
the inevitable mortaUty which sin has introduced;
under whose universal dominion, it must be the trial
of every man to be separated from that which in
this world he held most dear.

3. It requires long and severe conflicts to subdue
the earthly and selfish nature, and turn all the de-
sire of the soul to God, He that trusts to his own
wisdom and strength, is easily seduced to seek re-
pose in human consolations : but he that truly loves
Christ, and depends only upon his redeeming power
within him, as the principle of holiness and truth,
turns not aside to such vain comforts, nor, indeed,
seeks after any of the delights of sense ; but rather
chooses the severe exercises of self-denial, and, for
the sake of Christ, to endure the most painful la-
bours.

4. When, therefore, God bestows upon thee the
consolations of the Spirit, receive them with all
thankfulness: but remember, they are his gift, not
thy desert; and, instead of being elate, careless,
and presuming, be more humble, more w^atchful and
devout in all thy conduct : for the hour of hght and
peace will soon pass away, and darkness and tempta-
tion will succeed. Yet when this awful change
intervenes, do not immediately despair, but with
humihty and patience wait for the return of the

150

heavenly visitation ; for God, who is infinite in good-
ness as well as in power, is both able and willing to
renew the bounties of his grace in more abundant
measures.

5. This vicissitude of day and night in the spi-
ritual life, is neither new nor unexpected to those
that are acquainted with the w^ays of God ; for the
ancient prophets and most eminent saints have all
experienced an alternative of visitation and desertion.
As an instance of this, the royal prophet thus de-
scribes his own case : " When I was in prosperity,"
says he, and my heart was filled with the treasures
of grace, " I said, I shall never be moved." But
these treasures being soon taken away, and feehng
in himself the poverty of fallen nature, he adds,
" Thou didst turn thy face from me, and I was
troubled." Yet in this disconsolate state, he does
not despair; but with more ardour, raises his desire
and prayer to God: " Unto thee, O Lord, will I
cry, and I will make my supplication unto my God."
He then testifies, that his prayer is accepted, and
his prosperous state restored : " The Lord hath
heard me, and hath had mercy upon me ; the Lord
is become my helper." And to show how this mer-
cy and help were manifested, he adds, " Thou hast
turned my mourning into joy, and hast compassed
me about with gladness." And if this interchange
of light and darkness, joy and sorrow, was the com-
mon state of the greatest saints; surely such poor
and infirm creatures as we are, ought not to despair,
when we are sometimes elevated by fervour, and
sometimes depressed by coldness : for the Holy Spirit

151

eometh and goeth, " according to the good pleasure
of his will ;" and upon this principle the blessed Job
saith, " Thou visitest man in the morning, and of a
sudden thou provest him."

6. In what, therefore, can I hope, or where ought I
to place my confidence, but in infinite goodness, and
the Hfe, light, and peace, of the Divine Spirit ? For
whether the conversation of holy men, the endearing
kindness of faithful friends, the melody of music in
psalms and hymns, the entertainment of ingenious
books, nay, the instructions of the oracles of God:
whether any or all these advantages are present,
what do they all avail, what joy can they dispense,
when the Holy Spirit is withdrawn from my soid,
and I am left to the poverty and wretchedness of my
fallen self? In such a state, no remedy remains but
meek and humble patience, and the total surrender
of my will to the blessed will of God.

7. I never yet found a man so invariably holy and
devout, as not to have experienced the absence of
grace, and felt some decay of spiritual fervour : and
from this severe trial no saint has been exempt, to
whatever degrees of rapture and elevation his spirit
may have been exalted. It is a trial, however, that
when patiently endured for the love of God, pre-
pares and qualifies the soul for the high state of di-
vine contemplation. It may always be considered
also as the sign of approaching comfort : and to those
who suffer it with resignation, humihty, and faith,
is the uninterrupted felicity of Paradise chiefly pro-
mised; "to him that overcometh," saith he who is
" the First and the Last, will I give to eat of the

152

tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise
of God."

8. The ground of this vicissitude of comfort and
distress, is, in general, this : The consolations of the
Spirit are given to man, to enable him to bear the
adversity of his fallen state ; and they are taken away,
lest he be so much elevated with the gift as to for-
get the Giver.

9. After all, remember that the devil slumbereth
not, nor is the flesh yet dead : be, therefore, con-
tinually prepared for the contest ; for, on the right
hand, and on the left, thou art beset with enemies
that are never at rest.

CHAPTER X.
Of true Thankfulness for the Grace of God,

1. Why seekest thou rest, when thou art born
to labour ? Dispose thyself for patience, rather than
for consolation ; rather for bearing the cross, than for
receiving joy.

2. Who among those that are devoted to the
world, would not gladly receive the joys and conso-
lations of the Spirit, if they could be obtained with-
out rehnquishing the pursuits of honour, wealth,
and pleasure? The joys and consolations of the
Spirit transcend the delights of the world and the
pleasures of sense, as far as heaven transcends the
earth : these are either impure or vain ; those alone

153

are holy, substantial, delightful, the fruits of that
new nature which is born of God. But those no
man can enjoy at what time, and in what measure
he pleases ; and he finds, that the seasons of tempta-
tion return soon, and last long.

3. False freedom and self-confidence greatly op-
pose the heavenly visitation. God, who is infinite
in goodness, manifests that goodness, in bestowing
the gift of his Holy Spirit; man, who is wholly
evil, shows that evil, in not rendering back the gift
with the thankfulness and praise of dependent wretch-
edness : the power of the gift is destroyed by ingra-
titude to the Giver : the course of grace is stopped, by
diverting and confining its streams, and not suffering
them to flow back to their divine source. For the
influences of God's Spirit are in large measures
poured only upon the truly thankful, and from the
proud is taken away that which is always given to the
humble.

4. I wish for no consolation that robs me of
compunction ; nor aim at any contemplation that will
exalt me into pride : for every thing that is high, is
not holy; nor every desire pure; nor every thing
that is sweet, good ; nor every thing that is dear to
man, pleasing to God. But acceptable, beyond
measure, is that grace, by which I am made more
humble and fearful, and more disposed to deny and
renounce myself: for he that hath experienced the
divine gift, and been taught the infinite value of it,
by feeling its loss, so far from daring to appropriate
any thing good to himself, will in the deepest hu-
mihty acknowledge and lament the poverty and

g3

154

nakedness of his fallen spirit. " Render, there-
fore, unto God, that which is God's," and take to
thyself that which is properly thy own; give him
the glory of all thy good, and leave for thyself only
the shame and punishment of all thy evil.

5. Set thyself in the lowest place, and the highest
shall be given thee ; for the more lofty the building
is designed to be, the deeper must the foundations
of it be laid. The greatest saints in the sight of
God, are the least in their own esteem; and the
height of their glory is always in proportion to the
depth of their humility. Those that are filled with
true and heavenly glory, have no place for the de-
sire of that which is earthly and vain ; being rooted
and estabhshed in God, they cannot possibly be
lifted up in self-exaltation. Whatever good they
have, they acknowledge it to be received ; and ascrib-
ing the glory of it to the supreme Author of good,
they " seek not honour one of another, but the ho-
nour that cometh from God alone :" and that God
may be glorified in himself, and in all his saints, is
the prevailing desire of their hearts, and the princi-
pal end of all their actions.

6. Be thankful for what thou receivest, and thou
wilt be deemed worthy to receive more. Let that
which is thought the least of God's gifts, be unto
thee even as the greatest; and that which is held
contemptible, as a singular favour: the dignity of
the Giver confers dignity on all his gifts ; and none
can be small, that is bestowed by the Supreme God.
Even pain and punishment from him, are to be grate-
fully received : for whatever he permitteth to befal

155

us, he permitteth it to promote the important busi-
ness of our Redemption. Let him, therefore, that
(lesireth to preserve the grace of God in his heart,
be thankful when it is given, and patient when it is
taken away; let him pray ardently for its return;
and be particularly watchful and humble, that he
may lose it no more.

CHAPTER XI.

Of the small Number of those that love the Cross.

1. Jesus hath now many lovers of his heavenly
kingdom, but few bearers of his cross ; he hath many
that desire to partake of his comforts, but few that
are willing to share in his distress ; he finds many
companions of his table, but few of his hours of ab-
stinence. All are disposed to rejoice with Jesus,
but few to suffer sorrow for his sake : many follow
him to the breaking of bread, but few to the drink-
ing of his bitter cup; many attend with reverence
on the glory of his miracles, but few follow the ig-
nominy of his cross. Many love Jesus, while they
are free from adversity ; many praise and bless him,
while they receive his consolations : but if Jesus hide
his face, and leave them but a little, their confidence
and their devotion vanish, and they smk either into
murmur or despair.

2. But they who love Jesus for himself, and not
for their own personal comfort, will bless him in
the depths of tribulation and distress, as well as in

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the most exalted state of consolation: nay, should
he continue to withhold his consolations from them,
they would still continue to praise him, still give him
thanks. O mighty power of the pure love of Jesus,
unadulterated with any base mixture of self-love and
self-interest ! Do not they deserve the name of hire-
lings, who are for ever seeking after comfort ? do not
all prove, that they are lovers of themselves, more than
lovers of Christ, who desire and think of nothing,
but the repose and pleasure of their own minds ?

3. Where is the man that serveth God, without
the hope of reward? Where, indeed, is that true
" poverty of spirit" to be found, which is divested
of all that is thoucrht rich and valuable in the crea-
tures and self? This is " the pearl of great price,'*
that is worthy to be sought after to the utmost
bounds of nature ! Though a man give all his sub-
stance to feed the poor, it is nothing; though he
mortify the desires of flesh and blood by severe pen-
ance, still it is of little importance ; though he com-
prehend the vast extent of science, yet he is far be-
hind ; and though he hath the splendour of illustri-
ous virtue, and the ardour of exalted devotion, still
he will want much, if he still wants this " one thing
needful," this poverty of spirit, which, after aban-
doning the creatures about him, requires him to
abandon himself; to go wholly out of himself; to
retain not the least leaven of self-love and self-es-
teem ; but, when he hath finished his course of
duty, to know and feel, with the same certainty as
he feels the motion of his heart, that he himself
hath done nothing.

157

4. Such a man will set no value upon those at-
tainments, which, if under the power of self-love, he
would highly esteem; hut, in concurrence with the
voice of Truth, " when he has done all that is com-
manded him," he will always freely pronounce him-
self " an unprofitahle servant." This is that poverty
and nakedness of spirit, which can say, with the
Psalmist, Lord, in myself, "I am poor and deso-
late !" And yet there is none so rich, none so free,
none so powerful, as he, who renouncing himself and
all creatures, can remain peaceable in the most abject
state of abasement.

CHAPTER XIL

Of the Necessity of Bearing the Cross,

1. This saying seems hard to all: " Deny thy-
self, take up thy cross, and follow me." But as hard
a saying will be heard, when the same divine voice
shall pronounce, " Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire !" They, therefore, who can now
attentively hear, and patiently follow the call to bear
the cross, will not be terrified at the sentence of the
final judgment. In that awful day, the banner of
the cross will be displayed in heaven ; and all who
have conformed their lives to Christ crucified, will
draw near to Christ the Judge, with holy confidence.
Why, then, dost thou fear to take up the cross,
which will direct thee to the path that leads to the
kingdom of God ?

158

2. In the cross is life, in the cross is health, in
the cross is protection from every enemy; from the
cross are derived heavenly meekness, true fortitude,
the joys of the Spirit, the conquest of self, the per-
fection of hoHness ! There is no redemption, na
foundation for the hope of the divine life, but in the
cross. Take up thy cross, therefore, and follow
Jesus in the path that leads to everlasting peace.
He hath gone before, bearing that cross upon which
he died for thee ; that thou mightest follow, patiently
bearing thy own cross, and upon that die to thyself
for him : and if we die with him, we shall also live
with him ; " If we are partakers of his sufferings, we
shall be partakers also of his glory."

3. Behold, all consists in the death of self upon
the cross ; and there is no means to obtain life and
peace, but by daily dying upon the cross to all the
appetites and passions of fallen nature ! Go where
thou wilt, seek after what methods thou pleasest to
accompHsh thy redemption, thou canst not find a
subHmer way above, nor a more secure way below,
than this of dying upon the cross.

4. Though thou disposest all thy affairs according
to thy own fancy, and conductest them by the dictates
of thy own judgment, still thou wilt continually meet
with some evil, which thou must necessarily bear, either
with or against thy will ; and, therefore, wilt continu-
ally find the cross : thou wilt feel either pain of body,
or distress and anguish of spirit. Sometimes thou
wilt experience the absence of grace; sometimes thy
neighbour will put thy meekness and patience to the
test; and, what is more than this, thou wilt some-

159

times feel a burden in thyself, which no human help
can remove, no earthly comfort lighten ; but bear it
thou must, as long as it is the will of God to conti-
nue it upon thee. It is the blessed will of God, in
permitting no ray of comfort to visit us in the dark-
ness of distress, that we should learn such profound
humility and submission, as to resign our whole
state, present and future, to his absolute disposal.

5. No heart can have so true a sense of the suf-
ferincTS of Christ, as that which has suffered in the
same kind. The cross is always ready, and waits
for thee in every place. Run where thou wilt, thou
canst not avoid it ; for wherever thou runnest, thou
takest thyself with thee, and art always sure of find-
ing thyself. Turn which way thou wilt, either to
the things above, or to the things below: to that
which is within, or that which is without thee ; thou
wilt in all certainly find the cross : and, if thou
wouldst enjoy peace, and obtain the unfading crown
of glory, it is necessary that in every place, and in
all events, thou shouldst bear it willingly, and "in
patience possess thy soul."

6. If thou bearest the cross willingly, it will soon
bear thee, and lead thee beyond the reach of suffer-
ing, where " God shall take away all sorrow from thy
heart." But if thou bearest it with reluctance, it
will be a burden inexpressibly painful, which yet thou
must still feel ; and by every impatient effort to throw
it from thee, thou wilt only render thyself less and
less able to sustain its weight, till at length it crush
thee.

7. Why hopest thou to avoid that, from which

160

no human being has been exempt? Who among
the saints hath accompKshed his pilgrimage in this
world, without adversity and distress ? Even our
blessed Lord passed not one hour of his most holy
life, without tasting " the bitter cup that was given
him to drink;" and, of himself, he saith, that "it
behooved him to suffer, and to rise from the dead, and
so to enter into his glory." And why dost thou
seek any other path to glory, but that, in which,
bearing the cross, thou art called to follow "the
Captain of thy salvation ?" The life of Christ was
a continual cross, an unbroken chain of sufferings;
and desirest thou a perpetuity of repose and joy?
Thou art deceived, wretchedly deceived, if thou ex-
pectest any thing but tribulation ; for this mortal life
is full of misery, and every part of it is inscribed
with the cross.

8. The regenerate man, as he becomes more spi-
ritualized, has a quicker discernment of the cross,
wherever it meets him ; and his sense of the evils of
his exile, as the punishment of his fallen life, in-
creases in proportion to his love of God, and desire
of re-union with him. But this man, thus sensible
of misery, derives hope even from his sufferings ;
for while he sustains them with meek and humble
submission, their weight is continually diminishing;
and what to carnal minds is the object of terror, is
to him a pledge of heavenly comfort. He feels,
that the strength, the life, and peace, of the new
man, rise from the troubles, the decay, and death
of the old : and from his desire of conformity to his
crucified Saviour, as the only means of restoration

161

to his first perfect state in God, he derives so much
streno-th and comfort under the severest tribulations,
that he wisheth not to Hve a moment without them.
Of the truth of this, the blessed Paul is an illustrious
instance ; who says of himself, " I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecu-
tions, in distresses, for Christ's sake ; for when I am
weak, then am I strong."

9. This desire of suffering, however, and this
meek and patient submission under it, is not the ef-
fect of any power which is inherent in man, and
which he can boast of as his own ; but is the pure
fruit of the grace of Christ, operating so powerfully
in the fallen soul, as to make it love and embrace
that which it would naturally abhor and shun. No :
it is not in man to love and bear the cross ; to resist
the appetites of the body, and bring them under ab-
solute subjection to the Spirit ; to shun honours ; to
receive affronts with meekness; to despise himself,
and to wish to be despised by others ; to bear, with
calm resignation, the loss of fortune, health, and
friends ; and to have no desire after the riches, the
honours, and pleasures of the world. If thou de-
pendest upon thy own will and strength to do and
to suffer all this, thou wilt find thyself as unable to
accomplish it, as to create another world ; but if thou
turnest to the divine power within thee, and trust-
est only to that as the doer and sufferer of all, the
strength of Omnipotence will be imparted to thee,
and the world and the flesh shall be put under thy
feet : armed with this holy confidence, and defended
by the cross of Christ, thou needest not fear the

162

most malignant efforts of thy great adversary the
devil.

10. Dispose thyself, therefore, like a true and
faithful servant, to bear with fortitude and resolu-
tion the cross of thy blessed Lord, to which he was
nailed in testimony of his infinite love of thee. Pre-
pare thy spirit to suffer patiently the innumerable
inconveniences and troubles of this miserable life;
for these thou wilt find, though thou runnest to the
ends of the earth, or hidest thyself in its deepest
caverns; and it is patient suffering alone, that can
either disarm their power, or heal the wounds they
have made. Drink freely and affectionately of thy
Lord's bitter cup, if thou desirest to manifest thy
friendship for him, and " the part thou hast with
him." Resign to the will of God the dispensation
o£ his comforts, and wish only for tribulation, in its
innumerable forms, as the choicest blessing of thy
earthly life ; for " the sufferings of the present time,"
if they were all accumulated for thy portion, "are
not worthy to be compared with the glory which
shall be revealed in thee."

1 1 . When thou hast obtained so true a conquest
over self-love, that the love of Christ shall make
tribulation not only easy but desirable ; then all will
be well with thee, and thou wilt have found the
gate of Paradise: but while every tribulation is
painful and grievous, and it is the desire of thy soul
to avoid it, thou canst not but be wretched, and what
thou labourest to shun will follow thee wherever thou
goest. The patient enduring of the cross, and the
death of self upon it, are the indispensable duty of

163

fallen man ; and it is by these alone, that he can be
delivered from his darkness, corruption, and misery,
and restored to the possession of life, light, and
peace. Though, like St. Paul, thou wert " caught
up to the third heaven," yet thou wouldst not be
exempt from suffering ; for of St. Paul himself, his
Redeemer said, " I will show him how great things
he must suffer, for my name's sake." To suffer,
therefore, is thy portion ; and to suffer patiently and
willingly, is the great testimony of thy love and al-
legiance to thy Lord.

12. O that thou wert worthy to suffer any "af-
fliction for the name of Jesus !" what glory would
be laid up in store for thyself, what joy would be
diffused among the saints of God, what holy emula-
tion excited in thy neighbour ! Though patience
is extolled by all, yet few are wilHng to suffer : but
thou mayest well suffer a little for Christ, when men
endure so much for the world.

13. Know, that thy life must be a continual
death to the appetites and passions of fallen nature ;
and know also, that the more perfectly thou diest to
thyself, the more truly wilt thou begin to live to
God. No man is qualified to understand the stu-
pendous truths of redemption, till he has subdued
his impatience and self-love, and is ready to suffer
any adversity for the sake of Christ. This is so
acceptable to God, and so beneficial to the soul, that
if the condition of thy present life was left to thy
own choice, thou shouldst prefer suffering affliction
for the sake of Christ, to the uninterrupted enjoy-
ment of repose and comfort ; for this will render thee

164

conformable to Christ, and all his saints. Indeed,
the perfection of our state, and our acceptableness
with God, depend more upon the patient suffering
of long and severe distress, than upon continual
consolation and ecstacy.

14. If any way, but bearing the cross, and dying
to his own will, could have redeemed man from that
fallen life of self in flesh and blood, which is his
alienation from, and enmity to God, Christ would
have taught it in his word, and established it by his
example. But of all universally that desire to follow
him, he has required the bearing of the cross ; and
without exception has said to all, " If any man will
come after me, let him deny himself, take up his
cross, and follow me."

15. When, therefore, we have read all books,
and examined all methods, to find out the path that
will lead us back to the blessed state from which we
have wandered; this conclusion only will remain,
" That through much tribulation we must enter into
the kingdom of God."

BOOK THIRD.

OF DIVINE ILLUMINATION.

iHE

IMITATION OF CHRIST

BOOK THIRD.

OF DIVINE ILLUMINATION.

CHAPTER I.

Of the blessedness of Internal Conversation with
Christ.

DISCIPLE.

1. I WILL near what the Lord my Ciod will say
within me.

CHRIST.

Diessed is the soul that listeneth to the voice o.
the Lord, and from his own lips heareth the word of
consolation ! Blessed are the ears that receive the
soft whispers of the divine breath, and exclude the
noise and tumult of the world; yea, truly blessed
are they, when deaf to the voice that soundeth with-
out, they are attentive only to the truth teaching
within ! Blessed are the eyes that are shut to ma-
terial' objects, and open and fixed upon those that

168

are spiritual ! Blessed are they that examine the
state of the internal man; and, by continual exer-
cises of repentance and faith, prepare the mind for
a more comprehensive knowledge of the truths of
redemption ! Blessed are all who delight in the
service of God ; and who, that they may live purely
to him, disengage their hearts from the cares and
pleasures of the world !

DISCIPLE.

•
2. Consider these transcendent blessings, O my
soul ! and perpetually exclude the objects of sensual
desire, that thou mayest be able to hear and under-
stand the voice of the Lord thy God. Thy beloved
speaketh again.

CHRIST.

I am thy life, thy peace, and thy salvation ; keep
thyself united to me, and thou shalt find rest. Re-
/nove far from thee the transitory enjoyments of
earth, and desire and seek after the eternal enjoy-
ments prepared for thee in heaven; for what are
those transitory enjoyments, but delusions and snares ?
and what can all creatures avail thee, when thou
hast forsaken the Creator? Abandon, therefore,
all created things, that by a faithful and pure ad-
herence, thou mayest be acceptable to him in whom
thou hast thy being, and in union with his Spirit
enjoy everlasting felicity.

169

CHAPTER II.

That Christ, who is tlie Truth, speaketh to the Soul,
without the Sound of Words ; that his Instruc-
tions are to be heard with Humility ; and that
many regard them not.

DISCIPLE.

1. " Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. I
am thy servant ; give me understandmg, that I may
know thy testimonies." IncHne my heart to the
words of thy mouth : " Let thy speech distil as the
dew !"

2. The children of Israel once said to Moses,
" Speak thou with us, and we will hear : Jet not
God speak with us, lest we die." I pray not in
this manner: no. Lord, I pray not so; but, with
the prophet Samuel, humbly and ardently entreat,
" Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." Let not
Moses speak to me, nor any of the prophets; but
speak thou, O Lord God, the inspirer and enlight-
ener of all the prophets : for thou alone, without
their intervention, canst perfectly instruct me; but,
without thee, they can profit me nothing. They,
indeed, can pronounce the words, but cannot impart
the Spirit: they may entertain the fancy with the
charms of eloquence; but if thou aii; silent, they
do not inflame the heart. They administer the let-
ter, but thou openest the sense; they utter the
mystery, but thou revealest its meaning : they pub-

H 1

170

lish thy laws, but thou conferrest the power of obe-
dience; they point out the way to hfe, but thou be-
stowest strength to walk in it ; their influence is only
external, but thou instructest and enlightenest the
mind : " They water, but thou givest the increase ;"
their voice soundeth in the ear, but it is thou that
givest understanding to the heart.

3. Let not, therefore, Moses speak : but do thou,
O Lord my God, Eternal Truth ! speak to my
soul; lest, being only outwardly warned, but not
inwardly quickened, I die, and be found unfruitful;
lest the word heard and not obeyed, known and not
loved, professed and not kept, tui'n to my condemn-
ation. " Speak,'' therefore, " Lord, for thy ser-
vant heareth ; thou" only " hast the words of eternal
life !" O speak, to the comfort of my soul, to the
renovation of my heavenly nature, and to the eternal
praise and glory of thy holy name !

CHRIST.

4. Son, hear my words; words full of heavenly
sweetness, infinitely transcending the learning and
eloquence of all the philosophers and wise men of
this world : " The words that I speak, they are
spirit, and they are Hfe ;" not to be weighed in the
balance of human understanding, nor perverted to
the indulgence of vain curiosity; but to be heard
in silence, and received with meek simplicity, and
ardent affection.

DISCIPLE.

" Blessed is the man, whom thou instructest, O

171

Lord, and teachest him out of thy law; that thou
mayest give him rest from the days of adversity,"
lest he be left desolate upon the earth.

CHRIST.

5. I taught the prophets from the beginning, and
even till now cease not to speak unto all ; but many
are deaf to my voice : most men listen more atten-
tively to the world than to God ; they more readily
submit to the painful tyranny of sensual appetites,
than to the mild and sanctifying restraints of God's
holy will. The world promiseth only impure and
transitory joy, and men engage with ardour in its
unholy service ; I promise that which is supreme and
everlasting, and their hearts are insensible and un-
moved. Where is the man that serveth and obey-
eth me, with that affection and soHcitude, with
which the world and the rulers of it are served and
obeyed ? Even the sea exclaimeth, " Be thou
ashamed, O Zidon !" because, for a trifling acquisi-
tion of wealth or honour, a tedious and fatiguing
journey is cheerfully undertaken ; but, to obtain
eternal life, not a foot is lifted from the earth. The
sordid gain of perishing riches, engages the pur-
suit, and employs the industry of all; and the most
inconsiderable share of this imaginary property is
obstinately and bitterly contested. For the vain ex-
pectation of a vainer possession, men dread not the
fatigue of sleepless nights and restless days; but,
deplorable insensibiHty ! for unchangeable good, foi
an inestimable recompense, for unsuUied glory and
h2

172

endless happiness, the least solicitude and the least
labour is thought too dear a purchase !

6. Be ashamed, therefore, O slothful and dis-
contented servant ! that the children of the world
should, with more ardour, seek after destruction and
death, than thou to obtain eternal life : that they
should rejoice more in vanity, than thou in the truth.
Their hope is, indeed, vain, as that on which it is
erected; but the hope that dependeth on my pro-
mises, is never sent empty away : to all that faithfully
persevere in my love, what I have promised I will
give, what I have said 1 will fulfil. " I am the
rewarder of them that diligently seek me : I am he,
which searcheth" and trieth " the hearts" of the de-
vout.

7. Write my words upon thy heart ; ponder them
day and night: in the time of trouble, thou wilt
find their truth and efficacy ; and what thou now
readest and understandest not, the day of temptation
will explain. I visit man, both by trials and com-
forts; and continually read him two lessons, one to
rebuke his selfishness and impurity, and the other
to excite him to the pursuit of holiness. He that
hath my word, and despiseth it, hath that which
" shall judge him in the last day."

173

CHAPTER III.

The Soul, imploring the Influence of Gi'ace, is in-
structed to walk before God in humility and
Truth,

DISCIPLE.

1. O Lord my God, thou art my supreme and
consummate good ! and what am I, that I should
presume to open my Hps before thee? I am thy
least and most unprofitable servant ; an abject worm,
much more poor and contemptible than I dare to
express, or am able to conceive ! Yet remember
me, O Lord, and have mercy upon me; for, with-
out thee, I have nothing, can do nothing, and am
nothing. Thou alone art just, and holy, and good ;
thy power is infinite, and the manifestations of it
boundless; thou fillest all things, except the heart
of the impenitent sinner, that obstinately rejects the
offers of thy redeeming love. Remember, O Lord,
the love that brought me into beinc^; and as thou
madest all things for the communication of thy per-
fections and blessedness, O fill me with thyself !

2. How can I sustain the darkness and misery
of this fallen life, unless thy truth enUghten me,
and thy strength support me ? O turn not thy face
from me, delay not thy fatherly visitation, suspend
not the consolations of thy Spirit, lest my soul be-
come like a barren and " thirsty land where no wa-
ter is !" Lord, " teach me to do thy will ;" teach

174

me to walk before thee in humility and faith, in fear
and love ! Thou art my wisdom, who knowest me
in truth, and didst know me before I was born into
the world, and before the world was made !

CHRIST.

3. Son, walk before me in truth, and in single-
ness of heart seek me continually. He that walk-
eth before me in truth, shall be defended against
the assaults of evil spirits, and delivered from the
delusions and calumnies of wicked men : " If the
truth make thee free, thou shalt be free indeed;"
and shalt hear, without emotion, the vain commen-
dations and censures of the world.

DISCIPLE.

4. Lord, thy word is truth ! As thou hast
spoken, so, I beseech thee, be it done unto thy ser-
vant : let thy truth teach, protect, and preserve me
to my final redemption : let it deliver me from every
evil temper and inordinate desire — so shall I walk
before thee " in the glorious liberty of the children
of God."

CHRIST.

5. I will teach thee what is my " good and ac-
ceptable and perfect will." Think on the evil that
is in thee, with deep compunction and self-abhor-
rence; and think on the good without self-esteem
and self- exaltation. In thyself thou art a wretched
sinner, bound with the complicated chain of many
sensual and mahgnant passions. Thou art always

175

tending to nothing and vanity ; thou soon waverest,
art soon subdued, soon disturbed, and easily seduced
from the path of hoHness and peace. There is in
thee no good, which thou canst glory in as thy own ;
but much evil, as the ground of deep shame and self-
abhorrence : thou art even more dark, corrupt, and
powerless, than thou art able to comprehend.

6. Let not, therefore, pride deceive thee into
false notions of the holiness and perfection of thy
life; for thou hast nothing great, nothing valuable,
nothing worthy of admiration and praise, nothing
exalted, good, and desirable, but that which is pro-
duced by the operation of my Spirit. Let eternal
truth be all thy comfort and thy boast, and thy own
sinfulness thy displeasure and thy shame. Fear,
abhor, and shun nothing so much, as the evil tem-
pers of thy fallen nature, and the evil habits of thy
fallen life; which ought to offend and grieve thee
more than all the losses and distresses thou canst
meet with in the world.

7. Some men walk not before me in simphcity
and purity of heart; but moved by that curiosity
and arrogance which deprived angels of heaven, and
Adam of paradise, neglect themselves and their own
salvation, to search into the counsels of infinite
wisdom, and fathom the deep things of God. These
fall into dangerous errors, and aggravated sins; and
their pride and presumption I continually resist.
But do thou fear the judgments of God, tremble at
the wrath of Omnipotence; and instead of ques-
tioning the proceedings of the Most High, search
into the depths of thy own iniquities, that thou

176

mayest know how much evil thou hast done, and how
much good thou hast neglected.

8. Some place their religion in books, some in
images, and some in the pomp and splendour of ex-
ternal worship : these " honour me with their lips,
but their heart' is far from me." But there are
some that with illuminated understandings, discern
the glory which man has lost, and with pure affec-
tions pant for his recovery: these hear and speak
with reluctance of the cares and pleasures of the
present life, and even lament the necessity of admi-
nistering to the wants of animal nature ; these hear
and understand what the Holy Spirit speaketh in their
heart, exhorting them to withdraw their affection
from things on earth, and " set it on things above ;"
to abandon this fallen world, and day and night
aspire after re-union with God.

CHAPTER IV.
Of the Power of Divine Love,

DISCIPLE.

1. I BLESS thee, O heavenly Father, the Father
of my Lord Jesus Christ, that thou hast vouchsafed
to remember so poor and helpless a creature ! O
Father of mercies, and God of all consolation, I give
thee most humble and ardent thanks, that, unworthy
as I am of all comfort, thou hast been pleased to
visit my benighted soul with the enlivening beams

177

of heavenly light ! blessing, and praise, and glory,
be unto thee, and thy only begotten Son, and thy
Holy Spirit the Comforter, for ever and ever !

2. O Lord my God, who hast mercifully num-
bered me among the objects of thy redeeming love,
when thou art pleased to visit me, all that is with-
in me shall rejoice; for thou art my glory and my
joy, my hope and refuge in the day of my distress.
But because my love is yet feeble, and my holy
resolutions imperfect, I have continual need of thy
strength and consolation: do thou, therefore, visit
me continually, and instruct me out of thy law ; de-
liver me from malignant passions and sensual desires,
that being healed and purified, I may love with more
ardour, may suffer with more patience, may perse-
vere with more constancy.

CHRIST.

3. Love is, indeed, a transcendent excellence, an
essential and sovereign good; it maketh the heavy
burden light, and the rugged path smooth ; it bear-
eth all things without feehng their weight, and from
every adversity taketh away the sting.

4. The love of Jesus is a noble and generous
love, prompting to difficult attempts, and kindling
the desire of greater perfection : it continually look-
eth up to heaven, and abhors the restraints of its
earthly prison: it panteth after its original and na-
tive freedom ; and, lest its intellectual eye should be
darkened by earthly objects, and its will captivated
by earthly good, or subdued by earthly evils, sighs
for deliverance from this fallen world.

h3

178

5. Love surpasseth all sweetness, strength, height,
depth, -and breadth ; nothing is more pleasing, no-
thing more full, nothing more excellent in heaven or
in earth ; for " Love is born of God ;" and it can-
not find rest in created things, but resteth only in
him from whom it is derived.

6. Love is rapid in its motion as the bolt of hea-
ven; it acts with ardour, alacrity, and freedom, and
no created power is able to obstruct its course. It
giveth all for all, and possesseth all in all; fox it
possesseth the Supreme Good, from whom, as firom
its fountain, all good eternally proceeds. It re-
specteth no gifts, but transcending all imparted ex-
cellence, turneth wholly to the Giver of every per-
fect gift.

7. Love knoweth no limits, feeleth no burden,
considereth no labour : it desireth to do more than,
in its present state, it finds itself able to effect ; yet
it is never restrained by apparent impossibihty, but
conceiveth that all things are possible, and that all
are lawful : it, therefore, attempteth every labour,
however difficult, and accomplisheth many, under
which the soul that loveth not, faints and falls pros-
trate.

8. Love is watchful, and though it slumbereth,
doth not sleep; it is fatigued, but not exhausted;
straitened, but not enslaved ; alarmed by danger, but
not confounded ; and, like a vigorous and active
flame, is ever bursting upwards, and securely passeth
through all opposition.

9. He that loveth feels the force of this exclama-
tion, " My God ! My Love ! Thou art wholly

179

mine, and I am wholly thine !" and when this is the
voice of love, it reacheth unto heaven.

DISCIPLE.

10. Expand my heart with love, that I may feel
its transforming power, and may even be dissolved
in its holy fire ! Let me be possessed by love, and
ravished from myself by fervour and ecstacy ! Let
the lover's song be mine, " I will follow my beloved
on high !" Let my soul rejoice exceedingly in love,
and lose itself in thy praise ! Let me love thee more
than myself; let me love myself only for thy sake ;
and in thee love all others, as that perfect law re-
quireth, which is a ray of the infinite love that
shines in thee !

CHRIST.

IL Love delights in the communication of good;
and, with a swiftness equal to thought, diffuses its
blessings with impartiahty and ardour. It is cour-
ageous and patient, faithful and prudent, long-suf-
fering and generous, and never seeketh itself; for
that which seeketh itself, falls immediately from
love.

12. Love is circumspect, humble, and equitable;
not soft and effeminate, fickle and vain, but sober,
chaste, constant and persevering, peaceful and calm,
and free from the influence of sensible objects. It
is submissive and obedient to all, mean and con-
temptible in its own esteem, devout and thankful
to God, resigned to God's will, and even when his
consolations are suspended, faithfully dependent upon

180

his mercy; for, in this fallen life, love is not exempt
from pain.

13. He, therefore, that is not prepared to suffer
all things, and renounce his own will, to adhere
invariably to the will of his beloved, is unworthy of
the name of lover. It is essential to that exalted
character, to endure the severest labours and the
bitterest afflictions, and to let nothing in created
nature turn him aside from the supreme and infinite
good.

CHAPTER V.
Of the Trial of True Love.

CHRIST.

1. Thou art yet far distant, my son, from the
fortitude and purity of love; for thou art always
seeking after consolation with avidity; and the least
opposition to thy immoderate desires, hath power to
make thee relinquish thy most holy purposes. But
he that hath the fortitude of love, stands firm in the
midst of temptations; and utterly disbelieves and
despises the flattering insinuations of the enemy : he
knows that 1 love him; and, whether in prosperity
or adversity, makes me his supreme delight. And
he that loves with purity, considers not the gift of
the lover, but the love of the giver; he values the
affection more than the tokens of it ; esteems his be-
loved infinitely beyond the benefits he confers ; and.

181

with a noble generosity divesting his mind of all de-
sire of personal advantage, reposes himself not upon
my gifts but upon me.*

CHAPTER VI.

7^at the Soul must not despair under the Infirmities
of Nature, and the suggestions of Evil Spirits,

CHRIST.

1. Thou must not, therefore, think that all is
lost, when the fire of devotion ceases to blaze, and
thy heart is not elevated with that sensible fervour
which thou art always coveting: for the pleasing
rapture thou sometimes feelest, is the immediate
effect of present grace, to give thee a foretaste of
the permanent joys of beatified spirits ; upon which
thou must not invariably depend, because it cometh
and goeth according to the good pleasure of my
will. Thy principal concern and business is to
struggle against the incidental evil motions of fallen
nature, and the evil suggestions of fallen spirits;
and if thou dost this with faithful perseverance,
thou wilt give true proof of that Christian forti-

* In the common Latin editions, and in all the Englisli
translations which I have seen, this and the following Chapter
are connected, as one entire Chapter upon " The trial of true
love :" but M. Valart, the editor of the late Paris edition, has
printed no more upon that subject than is here given ; and has
asserted, that one leaf at least is wanting in the old manu-
scripts, to make this Chapter complete. — Translator.

182

tude which will be distinguished by the crown of
victory.

2. Let not, therefore, strange phantasms that
possess thee against thy will, of whatever they are
born, disturb the quiet of thy soul; maintain only
a firm and unchangeable resolution of obedience, and
an upright and pure intention towards God, and all
will be well. Nor art thou to consider thyself as
abandoned to the illusions of evil spirits, when being
suddenly elevated into holy ecstacy, thou as suddenly
fallest into thy accustomed insensibility and dissipa-
tion : for this change thou rather sufferest, than con-
tributest to produce ; and while it is involuntary, and
thou strivest against it, instead of being a proof of
the loss of grace, it may be made an occasion of hum-
ble and acceptable resignation.

3. Know, that it is the continual labour of thy
inveterate enemy, to suppress every holy desire in
thy soul, and divert thee from every holy exercise ;
from affectionate meditation on my sufferings, from
the imitation of my life, and the persevering con-
stancy of the saints, from the profitable recollection
of thy numerous sins, from the watchful keeping of
thy own heart, and from the heaven-born resolution
of " pressing towards the mark, for the prize of thy
high calling." He disturbs thy thoughts by innu-
merable vain and sensual images, to create in thee
disgust and abhorrence of the restraints of holiness,
and to withdraw thee from prayer and the instruc-
tions of the oracles of God: lie is offended and
alarmed at an humble and contrite acknowledgment
of sin ; and, if possible, would bring thee to a total

183

disuse of the memorials of my death. Believe him
not, nor heed his power, though, to insnare thy
soul, he thus continually spreadeth his deceitful net.
When he suggesteth vain thoughts and impure de-
sires, charge all the guilt upon his own head; and
say to him, " Get thee behind me, unclean and
malignant spirit; and be confounded at the foul
whispers of thy unholy breath ! Depart from me,
most detestable seducer ! thou shalt have no part in
me : for Jesus, the bruiser of thy head, is with me ;
and, like a mighty warrior, he will protect me from
thy malevolence, and thou shalt fall subdued and
confounded before him. I would rather die in ex-
tremity of torment, than consent to thy impious will.
Hold thy peace, therefore, and be dumb for ever; for
I will hearken to thee no longer, nor have any more
converse with thee, though thou shouldst continually
invent new stratagems to rob me of holiness and
peace. The Lord is my light, and my salvation ; of
whom shall I be afraid ? Though a host should en-
camp against me, my heart shall not fear. The Lord
is my strength, and my Redeemer !"

4. Thus, like a vahant soldier, let nothing abate
thy struggle for victory ; and if thou sometimes fall-
est through human frailty, rise immediately with re-
doubled vigour, depending upon the more abundant
succours of my grace. Only beware of pride and
self-complacence; for by these many are betrayed
into error, till they are brought to a degree of blind-
ness that is almost incurable. Let the destruction
of the proud, vainly presuming upon their own wis-
dom and their own strength, be to thee a perpetual
admonition of the blessino-s of humility.

184

CHAPTER VII.

Of concealing the Grace of Devotion under the Veil
of Humility,

CHRIST.

1. My son, when the fire of devotion is kindled
in thy heart, let not the favour exalt thee into pride .
boast not of it to others, as a distinction due to thy
superior merit ; nor ponder it in thy own mind with
self- approbation and complaisance; but rather con-
ceal it : and in a true knowledge and distrust of thy
great weakness, be more fearful in consequence of
the gift, as bestowed upon one that may make an
unworthy use of it. That ardour is not to be relied
on, which may soon abate, and give place to coldness.

2. During the enjoyment of heavenly consolation,
recollect how poor and miserable thou wert without
it. But the advancement of the spiritual life de-
pendeth not upon the enjoyment of consolation ; but
upon bearing the want of it, with such resignation,
humility, and patience, as not to relinquish prayer,
or remit any of thy accustomed holy exercises : thou
must, therefore, with a wilhng mind, and the best
exertion of thy ability, perform all thy duties; and
not abandon the care of thy improvement, upon pre-
tence of present barrenness and disquietude. There
are many, who, when their state of grace does not
correspond with their eager desires and boundless
expectations, instantly fall either into impatience or
sloth ; but " the way of man is not in himself;" and

185

it belongeth unto God to give comfort when he
pleaseth, to whom he pleaseth, and in that degree
which is most subservient to the designs of his wis-
dom and goodness.

3. Some inconsiderate persons, by an improper use
of the grace of devotion, have destroyed all its salu-
tary effects : with an intemperate zeal grounded upon
it, they have laid claim to such perfection, as it is im-
possible to obtain in the present life ; not considering
their own littleness, but following the tumultuous fire
of animal passions, instead of the calm irradiations of
divine truth. These, by presumption and arrogance,
have lost the grace that was vouchsafed them; and,
though they had exalted themselves " as the eagles,
and set their nest among the stars," yet they have
fallen back into the poverty and wretchedness of na-
ture ; that, being stript of all vain dependence upon
themselves, they might learn, that the best efforts of
human strength are ineffectual, and that none can
soar to heaven, except 1 support his flight, and bear
him upon my own wings.

4. They that are inexperienced in the spiritual
life, will be soon deceived and easily subdued, unless
they relinquish the guidance of their own opinions,
and hearken to the counsels of tried and successful
wisdom : but they who are " wise in their own con-
ceits," have seldom humility enough to submit to the
direction of others. An understanding, therefore,
that is able only to " receive" the truths of the
" kingdom of God" with the meekness and simpli-
city of " a little child," is infinitely better than that
which, arrogantly glorying in its extent, can compre-

186

hend the utmost circle of science : " Better is it to
be of an humble spirit" with the ignorant, " than to
divide the spoils" of learning " with the proud."

5. That man acteth indiscreetly, who gives him-
self up to the joy of present riches, forgetful of his
former poverty, and divested of that chaste and holy
fear of God, which makes the heart tenderly appre-
hensive of losing the grace it has received. Nor
has he attained the fortitude of true wisdom, who,
in the day of distress and sadness, suffers his mind
to be subdued by despair, and deprived of that ab-
solute confidence in me, which is my right, and his
own best support : but those that are most elate and
secure in time of peace, are most fearful and dejected
in time of war.

6. If thou wert always meek and lowly, and
couldst keep thy spirit under the peaceful restraints
of holy moderation, thou wouldst not so often incur
danger, nor fall into sin. In the hour of spiritual
fervour, it is useful to consider how it will be with
thee, when those rays of comfort are withdrawn, and
the shades of ni2:ht succeed. And when that awful
change takes place, thou must support thyself with
the hope, that the light of day, which, for thy in-
struction and my glory, I have suffered to depart lor
a season, will break again upon thy soul with new
effulgence. i

7. The trial of this vicissitude of light and dark- \
ness, will contribute more to the perfection of thy
spirit, than the gratification of thy own selfish will
in the enjoyment of perpetual sunshine : for the
safety and blessedness of man's state in this life, are

187

not to be estimated by the number of his visions
and consolations; nor by his critical knowledge of
Holy Scripture, nor his exaltation to superior dig-
nity and power; but by his being grounded and
estabHshed in humility, and filled with divine cha-
rity; by seeking, in all he doth, the glory of God
with purity and integrity ; by his knowing and de-
spising himself as nothing and vanity; and by his
rejoicing more in contempt and abasement, than in
honour and esteem.

DISCIPLE.

8. " Shall I take upon me to speak unto my
Lord, who am but dust and ashes?" If I deem
more highly of myself, and arrogate any excellence ;
behold, thou standest in judgment against me, and
my own iniquities oppose my claim by such a true
and forcible testimony as I can neither contradict
nor elude. But if I feel and acknowledge the
darkness, impurity, and w^retchedness of my fallen
nature ; if I empty my heart of all self-esteem, and
become humble as the dust of which I was made;
then wilt thou look upon me with a favourable eye;
then thy light will illuminate my heart; and then
every degree of arrogance and self-esteem, however
great, shall be swallowed up, and lost for ever, in the
abyss of my own poverty. There thou showest me
to myself, and teachest me what I am, what I have
been, and from whence I came; for I am nothing,
and knew it not.

9. When I am left to the disorderly workings
of nature and self, behold, I am all weakness and

188 '

misery ! but when thy light breaketh upon my soul,
my weakness is made strong, and my misery turned
into joy. And transcendently wonderful it is, that
a creature, which, by its alienation from thee, is al-
ways within the central attraction of selfishness and
sin, should be so suddenly enlightened, purified,
and blest, by a participation of the divine life ! But
this astonishing change is the pure effect of thy
infinite love, preventing me in all holy desires, suc-
couring me in all necessities, protecting me from
imminent dangers, and dehvering me from innumer-
able unknown evils.

10. By the love of myself, I lost myself; but
by the love and pursuit of thee alone, I have both
found thee, and found myself; and this love, the
purer it hath been, the more truly hath it shown me
my own nothingness : for thou, O most amiable Sa-
viour, hast been merciful unto me, beyond all that I
could either ask, or hope, or conceive.

11. Blessed be thy name, O my God ! that un-
worthy as I am of the least of all thy mercies, thou
continuest to heap such innumerable benefits upon
me. But thy love embraceth all, perpetually im-
parting life and blessing even to the ungrateful, and
those that are wandered far from thee. O turn us
back to thee again, that we may be thankful, humble,
and wholly devoted to thy will: for thou art our
wisdom, our strength, our righteousness, our sancti-
fication and redemption.

I

189

CHAPTER VIII.

That all Things are to be referred to God, as the
ultimate End; and that the Service of God is the
highest Honour, and the most perfect Freedom.

CHRIST.

1. If thou wouldst be truly blest, my son, make
me the supreme and ultimate end of all thy thoughts
and desires, thy actions and pursuits. This will
spiritualize and purify thy affections, which by an
evil tendency are too often perverted to thyself and
the creatures that surround thee : but if thou seekest
thyself in the complacential honours of assumed ex
cellence, or in the enjoyment of any good whicL
thou supposest inherent in the creatures, thou wilt
only find both in thyself and them the imbecility
and barrenness of fallen nature. Refer, therefore,
all things to me, as the giver of " every perfect gift;'*
the supreme good, from whom all excellence in the
creatures is derived, and to whom alone the praise of
excellence is due.

2. From me, as from a living fountain, the little
and the great, the rich and the poor, draw the wa-
ter of life; and he that willingly and freely drinks
it to my glory, shall receive grace for grace ; but he
that glories in any thing distinct from me, or delights
in any good not referred to me but appropriated as
his own, cannot be estabhshed in true peace, cannot
find rest and enlargement of heart; but must meet

190

with obstruction, disappointment, and anguish, in
every desire, and every pursuit. Do not, there-
fore, arrogate any good thyself, nor ascribe good to
any other creature ; but render all to me thy God,
without whom, not only man, but universal nature,
is mere want and wretchedness. I, who have given
all, demand it back in grateful acknowledgment, and
require of every creature the tribute of liumble
thanksgiving and continual praise. In the splendour
of this truth, all vain-glory vanisheth, as darkness
before the sun.

3. When divine light and love have taken pos-
session of thy heart, it will no longer be the prey
of envy, hatred, and partial affections ; for by divine
light and love, the darkness and selfishness of fallen
nature are totally subdued, and all its faculties re-
stored to their original perfection. If, therefore,
thou art truly wise, thou wilt hope only in me, and
rejoice only in me, as thy everlasting life and light,
perfection and glory : for " there is but one that
is good, and that is God;" who is to be blessed
and praised above aU, and in all.

DISCIPLE.

4. I will now speak again unto my Lord, and
will not be silent ; I will say to my King, and my
God, who sitteth in the highest heaven, " O how
great" and manifold are the treasures of " thy
goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that
fear thee !" But what art thou, O Lord, to those
that love thee with all their heart? Truly, the
exquisite dehght derived from that privilege of

191

pure contemplation with which thou hast invested
them, surpasseth the power of every creature to

expre

ss

5. How free and how exalted above all bless-
ing and praise, is that goodness which thou hast
manifested towards thy poor servant ; which not
only called him into being, but, when he had wan-
dered far from thee, by its redeeming virtue brought
him back to thee again, and with the command to
love thee, conferred the power to fulfil it ! O
source of everlasting love ! what shall I say con-
cerning thee ! How can I forget thee, who hast
condescended to remember me, pining away and
perishing in the poverty of sinful nature, and to
restore me to the di\dne life I had lost ! Beyond
all hope thou hast shown mercy to thy servant, and
beyond all thought hast made him capable of thy
friendship, and dignified and blessed him with it.
Poor and impotent as I am in myself, what can I
render thee for such distincjuished ^rrace? for it is
not given unto all, to renounce this fallen state;
and, in abstraction from the cares and pleasures of
the world, to follow thee in " the narrow path that
leadeth unto Hfe."

6. But is it a foundation of boasting, thus to
serve thee, whom all creatures are bound to serve?
Instead, therefore, of considering this call from
vanity and sin, ^vith self-complacency and appro-
bation, as a superior distinction from other men; I
ought rather to be lost in admiration and praise of
thy condescending goodness, which has received so
poor and unworthy a creature into thy family, and

192

exalted him to the fellowship of thy faithful and
beloved servants.

7. Lord, all that I have, all the ability by which
I am made capable of serving thee, is thine; and
thou, therefore, rather servest me. Behold the
heavens and the earth, which are continually ready
to execute thy will, and made subservient to the
redemption of fallen man; and what is more, thy
holy " Angels are ordained ministering spirits, and
sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs
of salvation !" and, what infinitely transcendeth all,
thou, the God of angels, hast condescended to take
upon thee " the form of a servant" to man, and
hast promised to give him thyself !

8. What returns of love and duty can I make
thee, for these innumerable and astonishing dig-
nities and blessings? O that I were able to serve
thee all the days of my life ! that I were able to
serve thee truly, though but for one day ! Thou
art everlastingly worthy of all service, all honour,
and all praise ! Thou art my gracious Lord ; and
I am thy poor vassal, under infinite obligations to
serve thee with all my strength, and perpetually to
celebrate thy glorious name. To do this, is the
sole wish and desire of my heart; and whatever
abiHty is wanting in me to accompHsh it, do thou
in much mercy supply !

9. What exalted honour, what unsullied glory,
to be devoted to thy service; and, for thy sake, to
despise this fallen life, and all that is at enmity
against thee ! What large measures of grace are
poured upon those, who voluntarily subject them-

193

selves to thy most holy laws ! What ravishing
consolations do they receive from thy Holy Spirit,
who, for the love of thee, renounce the delights of
the flesh ! What divine freedom do they enjoy,
who, for the glory of thy holy name, leave " the
broad way" of the world " that leadeth to destruc-
tion ;" and entering in at " the strait gate," per-
severe in " the narrow way that leadeth unto
life!"

10. O happy and honourable service, that makes
man truly free and truly holy ! O blessed privilege
of filial adoption, that numbers him with the family
of heaven, makes him equal to the angels, and ren-
ders him terrible to evil spirits, and delightful to
all that are sanctified ! O serN-ice for ever to be
desired and embraced; in which alone we can re-
cover the divine life we have lost, and enjoy the
supreme and everlasting good !

CHAPTER IX.

That the good Desires of the Heart are to he care-
fully examined and regulated; and the Evil sub-
dued hy continual Resistance.

CHRIST.

1. Son, there are many things in which thou ait
not yet sufficiently instructed.
I

194

DISCIPLE.

Lord, show me what they are, and enable me to
understand and to do them.

CHRIST.

Thy desires must be wholly referred to me; and,
instead of loving thyself, and following thy own par-
tial views, thou must love only my will, and in re-
signation and obedience be zealous to fulfil it.

2. When desire burns in thy heart, and urges
thee on some pursuit, suspend its influence for a
while, and consider, whether it is kindled by the
love of my honour, or thy own personal advantage.
If I am the pure principle that gives it birth, thou
mayest yield thyself to its impulse without fear;
and, whatever I ordain, thou wilt enjoy the event in
tranquiUity and peace : but if it be self-seeking,
hidden under the disguise of zeal for me, behold,
this will produce obstruction, disappointment, and
distress. Beware, therefore, of trusting to the fer-
vour of any new desire, before thou hast consulted
me ; lest thou disapprove and repent of that as evil^
which thou hast eagerly admitted and ardently in--
dulged as good : and as no desire must be imme-
diately cherished, because it has the appearance of
good ; so neither must any, because it has not that
appearance, be immediately suppressed. Even those
desires and pursuits that are known to be good, it
is often expedient to moderate and restrain; lest by
too much impetuosity thou incur distraction, or by

VJ5

apparent irregularity give offence to others, or by
unexpected opposition become impatient, and fall
from thy holy purpose.

3. But it is always necessary to resist tlie sensual
appetite, and by steady opposition subdue its power ;
to regard not what the flesh likes or dislikes, but to
labour to bring it, whether with or against its will,
under subjection to the spirit. And it must be
thus opposed, and thus compelled to absolute obe-
dience, till it is ready to obey in all things ; and has
learned to be content in every condition, to accept
of the most ordinary accommodations, and not to
murmur at the greatest inconvenience.

DISCIPLE.

4. O Lord my God, from thy instructions, and
my own experience, I learn the absolute necessity
of patience: for this fallen state is full of adversity;
and whatever care I take to secure peace, my present
life is a continual trouble and warfare.

CHRIST.

This, my son, will be the invariable condition of
man, till every root of evil is taken from him. But
})eace, so far from being found in a state that is
free from temptation, and undisturbed by adversity,
is derived only from the exercise of much tribulation,
and the trial of many sufferhigs. If thou sayest,
tliou art not able to suffer much here, how wilt thou
be able to endure the purifying fire of an hereafter?
Of two evils, the least is to be chosen ; and to escape
I 2

196

the awful punishments of futurity, thou must, for
the sake of God, bear with equanimity and patience
the evils of the present Hfe.

5. Thinkest thou, that the men of this world
are exempt from suffering, or have but an incon-
siderable portion ? Thou wilt not find it thus,
though thou searchest among the most prosperous
and the most luxurious. But thou wilt say, that
in the free indulgence of their own will, and the
enjoyment of perpetual delight, their hearts are in-
sensible to sorrow. And how long, dost thou think,
this uncontrolled licentiousness, and this uninter-
rupted enjoyment of sensual pleasure, will last?
Behold, the mighty, the wise, and the rich, shall
vanish like the cloud that is driven by the tempest,
and there shall be no remembrance of their honours
and delights ! Even while they live, the enjoy-
ment of what they have is imbittered by the want
of what they have not; is either made tasteless by
satiety, or disturbed by fear; and that from which
they expected to derive pleasure and joy, becomes
the source of pain and sorrow : for as this earthly
and animal life is the fallen state of the human soul,
it is just, that the inordinate desire of its good
should produce distraction and trouble ; and that
still wandering, and still unsatisfied, it should be
its own torment.

6. O how transient and false, how impure and
disgraceful are all these pleasures ! And yet,
wretched man, intoxicated by perpetual draughts,
and blinded bv custom, is insensible of the poison
he imbibes; and for the momentary delights of an

i

197

animal and corruptible life, incurs the danger of
eternal death.

7. Do thou, therefore, my son, restrain the appe-
tites of the flesh, and turn away from thy own will :
" Delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall give
thee the desires of thy heart." If thou wouldst
truly delight in me, and be plentifully enriched with
the joys of my Spirit, know, that such blessedness
depends upon the conquest of the world, and the
renunciation of its sordid and transitory pleasures ;
and the more thou abandonest the desire of crea-
turely and finite good, the more truly wilt thou en-
joy that infinite good which dwells in me.

8. But to the enjoyment of infinite good, thou
canst not attain at once ; nor without much patient
perseverance, and laborious conflict. Inveterate
evil habits will produce an opposition, which can
only be overcome by habits of holiness : the flesh
will murmur and rebel; and it is only by increasing
fervour of spirit that it can be silenced and subdued ;
the old serpent will deceive and trouble thee, and
tempt thee to revolt ; but he must be put to flight
by ardent prayer; and his future approaches must
be opposed by continual vigilance and continual em-
ployment in some holy exercise, or some innocent
and useful labour.

198

CHAPTER X.

Of meek Obedience^ after the Example of Jesus
Christ ; and of the awful Consideration of the
Divine Judgments^ as a motive to an humble
opinion of ourselves and our state in Grace,

CHRIST.

1. He that withdraws himself from obedience,
withdraws himself from grace; and he that seeketh
his own fallen life, loseth that divine life which I
came to restore. He that doth not freely and vo-
luntarily submit to that superiority, under which my
providence has placed him, demonstrates, that the
flesh is not yet overcome, but frequently murmurs
and rebels. If, therefore, my son, thou desirest
to subdue thy own flesh, learn ready and cheerful
submission to the will of thy superiors: for that
outward enemy will be much sooner overcome, if
the mind is kept under strict discipline, and not
suffered to waste its strength in dissipation and in-
dulgence. There is not a more violent or more
dangerous enemy, than tliy fleshly nature, when it
does not freely consent to the law of the Spirit;
thou must, therefore, be established in true solf-
abasement, if thou wouldst prevail against flesh and
blood.

2. It is the inordinate love thou still indulgest
for thy fallen self, that makes thee abhor submis-
sion to the will of others. But is it a great thing

199

for thee, who art dust and nothing, to submit to
man for the love of God; when I, the Supreme
and Almighty, who created all things, submitted to
man for the love of thee ? I became the least and
lowest of all, that human pride might be subdued
by my humility. Learn, therefore, to obey, O
dust ! learn to humble thyself, thou that art but
earth and clay, and to bow down beneath the feet
of all men ! Learn to break the perverse inclina-
tions of thy own will, that with ready compliance
thou mayest yield to all demands of obedience, by
whomsoever made. With holy indignation against
thyself, suppress every intumescence of pride, till
it can no longer rise up within thee ; and thou art
so submissive, so little and worthless in thy own
eyes, that men may walk over thee, and, as the dust
of which thou art made, trample thee under foot.
What hast thou to complain of, who art vanity it-
self? What, O base and unworthy sinner, canst
thou answer to those who reproach and condemn
thee, thou who hast so often offended God, and
incurred his terrible wrath ? But thy life was pre-
cious in my sight, and my eye hath spared thee,
that thou " mayest know my love, which passeth
knowledge ;" and in a perpetual sense of my mercy
and thy own unworthiness, devote thyself to un-
feigned humility and cheerful submission, and pa-
tiently bear the contempt of mankind.

DISCIPLE.

3. Thou breakest the thunder of thy judgments
over me, O Lord, and my bones are shaken with

200

fear and trembling, and my soul is filled with unut-
terable dread. I stand astonished, when I consider,
that the heavens are not clean in thy sight. If thou
hast found folly and impurity in angels, and hast
not spared even them, what will become of me ? If
the stars have " fallen from heaven, if Lucifer, son
of the morning," hath not kept his place; shall I,
that am but dust, dare to presume upon my own
stability? Many whose holiness had raised them
to exalted honour, have been degraded by sin to the
lowest infamy; and those that have fed upon the
bread of angels, I have seen delighted with the husks
of swine.

4. There is, therefore, no holiness, if thou. Lord,
withdraw thy presence; no wisdom profiteth, if thy
Spirit cease to direct; no strength availeth, without
thy support; no chastity is safe, without thy pro-
tection ; no watchfulness effectual, when thy holy
vigilance is not our guard. For no sooner are we
left to ourselves, than the waves of corruption rush
upon us, and we sink and perish ; but if thou reach
forth thy omnipotent hand, we walk upon the sea
and live. In our own nature we are unsettled as the
sand upon the mountain ; but in thee, we have the
stability of the throne of heaven : we are cold and
insensible as darkness and death, but are kmdled
into hght and life by the holy fire of thy love.

3. O how abjectly and meanly ought 1 to think
of myself ! How worthless and vain should I
deem the good that appeareth to be mine ! \\"ith
what profound humility, O Lord, ought I to cast
myself into the abyss of thy judgments, where I

201

continually find myself to be nothing and nothing !
O depth immense ! O fathomless and impassable
gulph ! in which my whole being is absorbed and
lost. Where, now, is the lurking-place of human
glory ; where the confidence of human virtue ? hi
the awful deep of thy judgments which covers me,
all self-confidence and self-glory are swallowed up
for ever !

6. Lord, what is all flesh in thy sight? Shall
the clay glory against him that formed it? Can
that heart be elated by the vain applause of men,
that has felt the blessino- of submission to the will of
God? The whole world hath not power to exalt
that, which truth hath subjected to himself; nor can
the united praise of every tongue move him, whose
hope is established in thee : for those that utter
praise, behold they also are nothing, like those that
hear it ! they shall both pass away and be lost, as
the sound of their own words; but " the truth of
the Lord endureth for ever !"

CHAPTER XL

That our Desires must be expressed in Terms of
absolute Resignation to the Divine IVilL

CHRIST.

L Let this, my son, be the language of all thy
requests: " Lord, if it be pleasing to thee, may
this be granted, or that withheld. Lord, if this
i3

202

tend to thy honour, let it be done in thy name.
Lord, if thou scest that this is expedient for me, and
will promote my sanctification, then grant it me, and
with it grace to use it to thy glory: but if thou
knowest it will prove hurtful, and conduce not to the
health of my soul, remove far from me my desire."
For every desire that appeareth to man to be right
and good, is not born from heaven ; and it is diffi-
cult always to determine truly, whether desire is
prompted by the good Spirit of God, or the evil
spirit of the enemy, or thy own selfish spirit : so that
many have found themselves involved in evil, by the
suggestions of Satan, or the impulse of self-love, who
thought they were under the influence and conduct
of the Spirit of God.

2. Whatever, therefore, presents itself to the
mind as good, let it be desired and asked in the fear
of God, and with profound humility; but especially,
with a total resignation of thy own will, refer both
the desire itself and the accomplishment of it to me,
and say, " Lord, thou knowest what is best; let
this or that be done, according to thy will. Give
me what thou wilt; and in what measure, and at
what time thou wilt. Do with me as thou knowest
to be best, as most pleaseth thee, and will tend most
to thy honour. Place me where thou wilt, and
freely dispose of me in all things. Lo, I am in
thy hands; do thou lead and turn me whitherso-
ever thou pleasest: I am thy servant, prepared for
all submission and obedience. I desire not to live
to myself, but to thee,' O grant it may be truly and
worthily !"

203

DISCIPLE.

3. Send me thy Spirit, most merciful Jesus,
« from the throne of thy glory," that it may be
" present with me, and labour with me," and illu-
minate, sanctify, and bless me for ever ! Enable
me always to will and desire that which is most
dear and acceptable to thee : let thy will be wholly
mine : let it reign so powerfully in me, that it may
not be possible for me to oppose it, or to like or dis-
like any thing but what is pleasing or displeasing in
thy sight !

4. Enable me to die to the riches and honours,
the cares and pleasures, of this fallen world; and in
imitation of thee, and for thy sake, to love obscurity,
and to bear contempt. But transcending all I can
desire, grant that I may rest in thee, and in thy
peace possess my soul ! Thou art its true peace,
thou art its only rest ; for without thee, it is all dark-
ness, disorder, and disquietude. In this peace, O
Lord, even in thee, the supreme and everlasting
good, I will " sleep and take my rest."

CHAPTER XII.
That true Comfort is to he found only in God,

DISCIPLE.

1. "Whatever I can desire or conceive as es-
sential to my peace, cannot be the production of

204

this world, and in tins world I seek not for it. If
all the good of the present life was within my reach,
and I had both liberty and capacity for its enjoy-
ment, I know that it is not only changeable and
evanescent, but is bounded by the grave. Thy full
consolation and perfect delight, therefore, O my
soul, are to be found only in God, the comfort of
the poor, and the exaltation of the humble. Wait
a little while, wait with patience and resignation, for
the accomplishment of the divine promise, which can-
not fail, and thou shalt enjoy the plenitude of good
in heaven. By the pursuit of earthly and finite
good, thou losest that which is celestial and infinite :
use this world, therefore, as a " pilgrim and a strang-
er," and make only the next the object of desire.

2. It is impossible thou shouldst be satisfied with
temporal good, because thou wert not formed for
the enjoyment of it; and though all that the crea-
tures comprehend was in thy possession, thou wouldst
stUl be unblessed; for it is in the Creator, the supreme
God alone, that all blessedness consists: not such
as is extolled and sought after by the fooUsh lovers
of the world ; but such as the faithful Christian ad-
mires and sighs for ; such as the spiritual and pure
in heart, whose " conversation is in heaven," have
sometimes a foretaste of.

3. How vain and transient is all human comfort !
how substantial and permanent, that which is derived
from the Spirit of Truth living and ruling in the
soul ! The regenerate man continually turneth to
Jesus, the comforter within him, and saith, " Be
present with me, Lord Jesus ! in all places, and at

205

all times. May I find consolation, in being willing
to bear the want of all human comfort ! and if thy
consolation also be wdthdrawn, let thy will and righte-
ous probation of me, be to mc as the highest com-
fort; for thou wilt not always chide, neither wilt
thou keep thine anger for ever !"

CHRIST.

4. Son, suffer me always to dispose of thee, ac-
cording to my will ; for that which is most profitable
and expedient for thee, is known only to me. Thy
thoughts are the thoughts of a man, and partial
affections too often pervert thy judgment.

DISCIPLE.

5. Lord, all thy words are truth ! Thy care
over me is infinitely greater than all the care I can
take for myself; and his dependence is utterly vain,
who casteth not all his care upon thee.

6. Bring my will, O Lord, into true and un-
alterable subjection to thine, and do with me what
thou pleasest ; for whatever is done by thee, cannot
but be good. If thou pourest thy light upon me,
and turnest my night into day, blessed be thy name ;
and if thou leavest me in darkness, blessed also be
thy name ; if thou exaltest me with the consolations
of thy Spirit, or humblest me under the afflictions
of fallen nature, still may thy holy name be for ever
blessed !

CHRIST.

7. This absolute resignation, O my Son, must

206

be tlie prevailing temper of thy spirit, if thou woulclst
live in union with me : thou must be as ready to suf-
fer, as to rejoice ; as wilhng to be poor and needy,
as to be full and rich.

DISCIPLE.

8. Lord, I will freely suffer for thy sake, what-
ever affliction thou permittest to come upon me : I
will indifferently receive from thee, sweet and bit-
ter, joy and sorrow, good and evil ; and for all that
befalleth me, I will thank the love that prompts the
gift, and reverence the hand that confers it. Keep
me only from sin, and I will fear neither death nor
hell : cast me not off" for ever, nor blot my name out
of the book of life, and no tribulation shall have
power to hurt me.

CHAPTER XIII.

That in Conformity to the Example of Christy the
Miseries of this fallen Lfe are to he home with
Patience and Resignation.

CHRIST.

1. I CAME down from heaven, my son, for thy
salvation; and took upon me the miseries of thy
sinful nature, not from constraint but love, that thou
mightest learn patience, and bear without murmur-
ing, the evils of thy fallen state. From the hour
of my birth in the flesh, to the hour of my expira-

207

tion on the cross, I found no intermission of sorrow :
I felt the extreme want of the necessaries of hfe : I
heard the continual murmurings of the world against
me, in silence ; and bore with meekness its reproach
and scorn : my benefits were treated with ingrati-
tude, my miracles with blasphemy, and my heavenly
doctrine with misrepresentation and reproof.

DISCIPLE.

2. O Lord ! since thou, in whom was no sin, hast
by a life of patience and obedience fulfilled thy Fa-
ther's will ; it is meet that I, a most wretched sinner,
should patiently fulfil thy will, and bear the evils of
my fallen state, till the purposes of thy redeeming
love are accomplished.

3. Though the present life be in itself a grievous
burden, yet, through the power of thy grace, and
the influence of thy holy example, and of the saints
who have followed thy steps, it is made supportable
and liirht, even to the weak. It is also enriched with
comforts that were not experienced under the law,
when the gate of paradise remained shut, and the
way to it was obscured with shadows, and so few
desired to seek after the kingdom of God. Nor
could even those whom thou hadst chosen to salva-
tion, and numbered among the just, "enter into
the hoHest," till, by thy stupendous passion and bit-
ter death, " a new and Hving way was consecrated"
for them.

4. O what thankfulness and praise are we bound
to render thee, who hast thus condescended to open,
for every faithful soul, a good and sure way to thy

208

eternal kingdom ! Thy life, O Lord, is our true
way ; and in the exercise of that holy patience which
thy Spirit inspires, we approach nearer to thee, who
art our righteousness and crown of glory. If thou
hadst not shown us the path to life, and led us on
by the united aid of thy example and thy grace, who
could have found it, or who would have desired or
been able to walk in it? If, blest as we are, not
only with the splendour of thy miracles and precepts,
but with the irradiations of thy own Spirit, we are
still cold and sluggish, and indisposed to follow thee,
what should we be, if we were left in the darkness
of fallen nature ?

CHRIST.

5. What hast thou said, my son ? In the con-
templation of my passion, and of the sufferings of
those who have " followed me in the regeneration,"
suppress thy complaints : " thou hast not yet resist-
ed unto blood." What are thy labours compared
with those of the saints, who have been so power-
fully tempted, so grievously afflicted, so variously
tried and exercised? In the remembrance of theirs
which were so heavy, thou shouldst forget thy own
which are so light. That thou thinkest thy own
sufferings not light, is owing to the impatience of
self-love : but whether they are light or heavy, thou
must endeavour to bear all with patient submission.

6. The more truly thou disposest thyself to suffer,
the more wisely dost thou act, and the greater will
be thy recompence : by fortitude and habitual suffer-
ing, the severest evils are disarmed of their sting.

209

Say not, " I cannot brook this injury from such a
man ; and the injury itself is what I ought not to
bear; for he has done me irreparable wrong, and re-
proached me for evil that never entered my thoughts.
From any other person I could have borne it with-
out emotion ; and there are many things that it is
fit I should suffer." These are foolish distinctions,
founded only on the nature of the offence, and the
relation of the person who commits it; but regard
not the virtue of patience, nor by whom it will finally
be crowned.

7. He is not patient, who will suffer but a cer-
tain degree of evil, and only from particular per-
sons. The truly patient man considers not by
whom his trials come, whether by his superior, his
equal, or his inferior; whether by the good and
holy, or by the impious and the wicked; but what-
ever be the adversity that befals him, however of-
ten it is renewed, or by whomsoever it is adminis-
tered, he receives all with thankfulness, as from
the hand of God, and esteems it great gain: for
there is no suffering, be it ever so small, that is pa-
tiently endured for the sake of God, which will not
be honoured with his acceptance and blessin£f.

8. If therefore thou desirest to obtain victory,
make ready for the battle. The crown of patience
cannot be received where there has been no suffer-
ing : and if thou refusest to suffer, thou refusest to
be crowned; but if thou wishest to be crowned, thou
must fight manfully, and suffer patiently : without
labour, none can obtain rest ; and without contend-
ing, there can be no conquest.

210

DISCIPLE.

9. O Lord ! make that possible to me by grace,
which I find impossible by nature. Thou knowest
that I can bear but little, and by the lightest adver-
sity am soon overwhelmed. Grant that every tribu-
lation and chastisement may become lovely and de-
sirable to me, for thy name's sake ! for patiently to
suffer affliction for thee, will heal the disorders of
my soul.

CHAPTER XIV.

Of Personal Infirmity ^ and the Miseries of the pre-
sent Life.

DISCIPLE.

1. " I WILL confess my transgressions unto the
Lord," and acknowledge my infirmity. How small
are the afflictions, by v/hich I am so often cast down,
and plunged in sorrow ! I resolve to act wdth forti-
tude, and by the slightest evil am confounded and
distressed. From the most inconsiderable events,
the most grievous temptations rise against me; and
whilst I think myself established in security and
peace, the smallest blast, if it be sudden, hath power
to bear me down.

2. Behold, therefore, O Lord ! my abject state,
and pity the infirmity which thou knowest infinitely
better than myself! Have mercy upon me, that I

211

sink not ; that the deep may not swallow me up for
ever ! So apt am I to faU, so weak and irresolute
in the resistance of my passions, that I am continu-
ally driven back in the path of life, and covered with
confusion in thy sight : and though sin does not ob-
tain the full consent of my will, yet the assaults of
it are so frequent, and so violent, that I am even
weary of living in perpetual conflict. My corrup-
tion and weakness are experimentally known ; for the
evil thoughts that rush upon me, take an easy pos-
session of my heart, but are with difficulty driven
out again.

3. O that thou, the most mighty God of Israel,
the zealous lover of faithful souls, wouldst look down
with compassion on the labours and sorrows of thy
servant, and perfect and fulfil his desire of re-union
with thee ! Strengthen me with heavenly fortitude,
lest the old man, this miserable flesh, which is not
yet brought under subjection to the Spirit, should
prevail iind triumph over me — against him I am bound
to strujTfjle, as loncj as I breathe in this fallen life.

4. Alas ! what is this life, which knows no in-
termission of distress and sorrow ! where snares are
laid, and enemies rise, both behind and before, on
the right hand and on the left ! where, while one
tribulation is departing, another cometh on; and be-
fore the adversary is withdrawn from one severe
conflict, he suddenly sounds a new alarm ! And
can a life like this, thus imbittered with distress,
thus filled with corruption, and subject to such a
variety of evils, be the object of desire? Can it
even deserve the name of life, when it is continually

212

teeming with plagues and pains that terminate in
death? Yet it is still loved and desired; and many
place their whole confidence in it, and seek their
supreme happiness from it.

5. The world, indeed, is frequently reproached
for its deceitfulness and vanity; but while carnal
affections govern the heart, it is not easily forsaken.
It is both loved and hated by those, who have
neither inclination nor power to leave it : " the lust
of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of
life," being the offspring of the world, love it as
their parent ; but as these bring forth pain and rni-
sery, they bring forth also, in union with them, dis-
gust and hatred of the world. But alas ! while the
soul is devoted to the delights of sin, the love of the
world still prevails ; and because she is a stranger to
the joys of the Spirit, and hath neither tasted nor
conceived the transcendent sweetness of communion
with God, she still adheres to the world, and not-
withstanding her manifold disappointments, still hopes
to find pleasures hidden under thorns.

6. Those only wdio live to God in the continual
exercise of faith and love, of patience, humility, re-
signation, and obedience, obtain the conquest of the
world; and enjoy those divine comforts, that are
promised to every soul that forsakes all to follow
Christ : and those only truly discern, how grievously
the lovers of the world are mistaken; and in how
many various ways they are defrauded of happiness,
and left destitute and wretched.

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213

CHAPTER XV.*

That the Soul must seek her Repose only in God.

DISCIPLE.

1. With all endowments of nature, and all gifts
of grace, at all times, and in all places, whether in
heaven or on earth, thy repose, O my soul, is to be
found only in the supreme God, the everlasting rest
and blessedness of the saints !

2. O most lovely, and most loving Jesus ! grant
me the will and power, above all created being to
rest in thee ; above all health and beauty, all glory
and honour, all power and dignity, all knowledge
and wisdom, all riches and all arts; above all pro-
mise and hope, all holy desires and actions, all gifts
and graces which thou thyself canst bestow, all rap-
ture and transport which the heart is able to receive ;
above angels and archangels, and all the hosts of
heaven ; above all that is visible and invisible ; and
finally above every thing, which thou, my God, art
not!

3. For thou, O Lord God ! art above all, in all
perfection ! Thou art most high, most powerful^
most sufficient, and most full ! Thou art most
sweet, and most abundantly comforting ! Thou art

* M. Valart has printed this chapter as a continuation of the
preceding ; but if it is not a distinct chapter, it seems to be
more naturally connected with the chapter that follows, and with
that it stands united in all the editions prior to M. Valart' s.

214

most lovely, and most loving : most noble, and most
glorious ! In thee, all good centres, from eternity
to eternity ! And, therefore, whatever thou be-
stowest on me that is not thyself; whatever thou
revealest or promisest, while I am not permitted truly
to behold and enjoy thee ; is insufficient to fill the
boundless desires of my soul, which, stretching be-
yond all creatures, and even beyond all thy gifts,
can only be satisfied in union with thy all-perfect
iSpirit.

CHAPTER XV.
That God always heareth the Prayer of the Humble.

DISCIPLE.

1. Dearest Jesus, most beloved spouse of my
soul, supreme source of light and love, and sovereign
Lord of universal nature ! O that I had tlie wings
of true liberty, that I might take my flight to thee,
and be at rest ! When will it be granted me, in
silent and peaceful abstraction from all created be-
ing, to " taste and see how good" thou art, O Lord,
my God ! When sliall I be wholly absorbed in thy
fulness ! W^hen shall I lose, in the love of thee, all
perception of myself; and have no sense of any be-
ing but thine !

2. Now I groan continually, and bear with pain
the burden of my wretchedness : for innumerable
evils spring up in this vale of sin and sorrow, that

215

darken, deceive, and distress my soul; so that I can
have no free access to thee, nor enjoy that incftable
communion with thee, which is the privilege and
perfection of beatified spirits. O let my sighs move
tliee, and the multipHed desolation which I suffer m
this fallen life !

3. Holy Jesus, ineffable splendour of eternal glo-
ry, sole comfort of the wandering soul ! my heart is
lifted up to thee, and without voice speaketh to thee
in "groanings that cannot be uttered !" How long
will my Lord delay his coming? O may he come
to me, his forlorn creature, and turn my sorrow into
joy ! May he reach forth his Omnipotent hand, and
bid the winds that howl about me be silent; and the
sea that threatens to devour me, be calm ! " Come,

0 Lord Jesus, come quickly !" In thy absence,
no day nor hour is joyful ! for thou art my only
joy, and without thee my table is empty ! I am a
wretched prisoner in the darkness of this fallen world,
bound with the chains of sin and misery ; till thou
revivest me with thy presence, restorest me to liber-
ty, and liftest up the light of thy reconciled coun-
tenance upon me !

4. Let those that prefer to thee the gratification
of some prevaihng desire after the enjoyments of the
world, seek that happiness which they can never find ;

1 vvill pursue no good, present or future, but thee
alone, my God, my hope, and everlasting salvation !
nor will I cease from my importunity, till thou turn-
est back to me again, and I hear thy blessed voice
speaking within me.

216

CHRIST.

5. Behold, I am here ! Behold, I am come to
help thee, because thou hast called upon me "in
sincerity and truth." Thy tears, and the desire of
thy soul, thy humiliation and contrition, which I
never despise, have inchned me and brought me to
thee.

DISCIPLE.

6. Lord, I have called upon thee in my distress,
and I desire truly to enjoy thee, for I am prepared
to renounce all things for thy sake. It is thou who
hast given me both the will and the power to seek
after thee : and for ever blessed be thy name, O
Lord ! who, in the multitude of thy tender mer-
cies, hast shown this transcendent kindness to thy
fallen creature !

7. What hath thy servant to say more in thy
presence, but to beg, that he may humble himself
exceedingly before thee, and be ever mindful of his
own darkness, impurity, and malignity. There is
none like unto thee in all the wonders of heaven
and earth; and all that thou doest, is, hke thyself,
supremely good: thy judgments are true; and thy
Providence governeth the whole universe, that it
may finally partake of thy perfection and blessed-
ness ! Praise and gloiy, therefore, be unto thee, O
wisdom of the Father, for ever ! " Bless the Lord,
all his works, in all places of his dominion; bless
the Lord, O my soul !"

217

CHAPTER XVI.

Of the thankful remembrance of the manifold
Mercies of God.

DISCIPLE.

1. Open my heart, O Lord, in thy law, and
teach me to walk in thy commandments. Give me
understanding to know thy will; and to remember,
with faithful recollection, and profound reverence,
thy innumerable benefits, as well general as personal,
that I may be always able worthily to praise thee,
and give thee thanks.

2. I know, indeed, and confess, that of myself I
am not able to render thee due thanks and praise for
thy smallest benefits : for I am less than the least of
all thy mercies ; and when I attempt to contemplate
thy excellent majesty, my spirit fails, unable to sus-
tain the vast idea.

3. All the faculties of mind and body, all the en-
dowments of nature, and all the advantages of grace,
are the gifts of thy hand ; and proclaim the infinite
love and munificence of the Giver, from whom all
good eternally proceeds : and though one receiveth
more, and another less, yet it is all thine, and with-
out thee the least portion cannot be enjoyed.

4. He that hath received greater gifts, hath no
reason to glory in his o^vn merit, nor to exalt him-
self above others, nor to insult his poorer brother
who hath received less: for he is the greatest and

K 1

218

best, who ascribes least to himself, and is most de-
vout and humble in the acknowledgment and praise
of that infinite liberality from which every good and
perfect gift proceeds: he only who esteems himself
the vilest, and the most unworthy of receiving tlie
least favours, is best qualified to discern and bless
the bounty which confers the greatest.

5. But he that hath received more sparingly,
ought not, therefore, to be troubled, nor to murmur
at or envy the larger portion of his more wealthy
brother; but rather, in humble resignation to thy
will, O God, extol that universal goodness, which
is so abundantly, so freely and voluntarily, and
without respect of persons, dispensed to all. Thou
art the inexhaustible fountain of good; and for all
that flows from it, thou only art to be praised. Thou
knowest what is fit to be given, and what to be
withheld ; and why one hath more, and another less,
it is not in us, but in thee only to discern, who hast
weighed the ability and state of all creatures in thy
righteous balance.

6. Therefore, O Lord God, I esteem it a signal
mercy, that I do not possess many of those qualities
and endowments, which in the eyes of men appear
glorious, and attract admiration and applause: and
he that truly considers his own personal poverty and
meanness, so far from being disquieted, grieved,
and dejected, should rather derive comfort from this
right perception of his fallen state; for thou, O God,
hast chosen the poor in spirit, the humble, the self-
despised, and the despised of the world, for thy in-
timate friends, and the children of thy family. Of

219

this, thy own apostles are eminent instances, whom
thou hast appointed to " sit on twelve thrones, judg-
ing the twelve tribes of Israel." Yet these passed
a life of indignity and opposition, without complaint ;
and were so humble, so meek, so free from malig-
nant passions and selfish views, that they even re-
joiced to " suffer shame" and reproach " for thy
name ;" and with ardent affection embraced that
poverty which tlie world despises, and with un-
shaken patience endured those afflictions which the
world abhors.

7. Nothing, therefore, should give so much joy
to the heart of him that truly loveth thee, and is
truly sensible of thy undeserved mercies, as the per-
fect accomplishment of thy blessed will, not only in
his temporal, but in his eternal state: in which he
should feel so much complacency and acquiescence,
as to be abased as willingly as others are exalted;
to be as peaceful and contented in the lowest place,
as others are in the highest ; and as gladly to accept
of a state of weakness and meanness that is destitute
both of ability and reputation, as others do of the
most splendid honours, and the most extensive
power. The accompHshment of thy will, and the
glory of thy name, should transcend all other consi-
derations, and produce more comfort and peace, than
all the personal benefits which have been, or can pos-
sibly be conferred.

^

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220

CHAPTER XVII.
Of four Steps that lead to Liberty and Peace.

CHRIST.

1. 1 WILL now teach thee, my son, the way to
liberty and peace.

DISCIPLE.

Gracious Lord ! do what thou hast condescended
to offer. Such instruction I shall rejoice to hear,
for such instruction I greatly need.

CHRIST.

Constantly endeavour to do the will of another,
rather than thy own :

Constantly prefer a state of want, to a state of
abundance :

Constantly choose the lowest place, and to be in-
ferior to all : and,

Constantly desire and pray, that the will of God
may be perfectly accomplished in thee, and concern-
ing thee.

Verily, I say unto thee, he that doeth this, enters
into the region of rest and peace.

DISCIPLE.

2. Lord ! this short lesson teacheth great perfec-
tion ; it is expressed in few words, but it is replete '
with truth and fruitfulness : and if I could faithfully

J

observe it, trouble would not so easily rise up within
me ; for as often as I find myself disquieted and op-
pressed, I know I have wandered from the strait
path which thou hast now pointed out. But do
thou, O Lord ! who canst do all things, and ever-
more lovest the improvement of the soul, increase
the power of thy grace, that I may be enabled to
fulfil thy word, and accomplish the salvation to which
thou hast mercifully called me.

3. " O God, be not far from me; O my God,
make haste for my help !" for a multitude of evil
thoughts have risen up within me, and terrible fears
afflicting my soul. How shall I pass them unhurt ?
How shall I break my way through them, and ad-
here to thee ?

CHRIST.

4. 1 will go before thee, and humble the lofty
spirits that exercise dominion over thee ; I will break
the doors of thy dark prison, and reveal to thee the
secrets of my law.

DISCIPLE.

5. Do, O Lord I what thou hast graciously pro-
mised: lift up the light of thy countenance upon my
soul, that every thought which is vain and evil may
vanish before it. This is my strength and comfort,
to fly to thee in every tribulation, to confide in thy
support, to call upon thee from the lowest depths of
my heart, and patiently to wait for the superior con-
solations of thy Spirit.

6. Illuminate me, most merciful Jesus ! with the
splendour of thy presence, and cast out all darkness

222

from the secret dwelling of my heart. Restram my
wandering thoughts that are carried out after evil,
and repulse the temptations that so furiously assault
my soul. Fight thou my battles ; and with thy own
Omnipotent arm scatter all my enemies, those de-
ceitful lusts, and malignant passions, that are con-
tinually at work to betray and destroy me ; that in
thy power I may obtain peace, and my purified soul,
as a living temple consecrated to thee, may resound
with songs of thankfulness and praise ! Rebuke
the storms that rise up within me : say to the raging
sea, " Be still;" and to the north wind, " Blow
hou not;" and a heavenly calm shall instantly suc-
ceed !

7. Send forth thy Hght and thy truth, that they
may " move upon" this barren " earth :" I am
" earth, without form, and void ;" a deep covered
with darkness, till thou sayest, " Let there be light."
Pour forth thy treasures from the throne of grace ;
water my heart with the dew of heaven, that the
barren soil may produce good fruit worthy to be of-
fered up to thee. Raise my fallen soul, oppressed
with the burden of sin; draw all my desire after
thee ; and give me such a perception of the perma-
nent glories of heaven, that I may despise and forget
the fleeting vanities of earth ! O force me from
myself ! snatch me away from the delusive enjoy-
ment of the creatures, who are unable to appease
my restless desires ! Unite me to thyself by the
indissoluble bonds of love; for thou only canst sa-
tisfy the lover, to whom the whole universe, witliout
thee, is " vanity and nothing !"

223

CHAPTER XVIII.

Of avoiding a curious Inspection into the Conduct
of others.

CHRIST.

1. Son, indulge not vain curiosity, nor surrender
thy spirit to the dominion of unprofitable cares :
" what is" this, or " that to thee ? follow thou me."
What, indeed, to thee, are the words, the actions,
and characters, of the idle and the busy, the igno-
rant and the vain? The burden of thy own sins is
as much as thou canst bear, and thou wilt not be re-
quired to answer for the sins of others; why, then,
dost thou perplex thyself with their conduct? Be-
hold, I understand the thoughts afar off, and no-
thing that is done under the sun can escape my notice.
I search the personal secrets of every heart, and
know what it thinks, what it desires, and to what
its intention is principally directed. All inspection,
therefore, and all judgment being referred to me,
do thou study only to preserve thyself in true peace,
and leave the restless to be as restless as they will :
they cannot deceive Omniscience ; and whatever evil
they have done or said, it will fall upon their own
heads.

2. Hunt not after that fleeting shadow, a great
name ; covet not a numerous acquaintance, nor
court the favour and affection of particular persons ;
for these produce great distraction and darkness of

224

heart. I would freely visit tliee with instruction,
and reveal my secrets to thee, if, in abstraction from
useless cares, thou didst faithfully watch my coming,
and keep the door of thy heart open to receive me.
Be wise ; " watch and pray ;" and humble thyself
continually, under the sense of thy numerous imper-
fections and wants.

CHAPTER XIX.

In what true Peace of Mind and Spiritual Perfec-
tion consist.

CHRIST.

1. Son, I once said to my disciples, " Peace I
leave with you ; my peace I give unto you : not as
the world giveth, give I unto you." Peace is what
all desire ; but the things that belong to peace, few
regard. My peace dwells not but with the humble
and the meek, and it is found only in the exercise
of much patience. If thou wilt hearken to me, and
obey my voice, thou mayest enjoy a large portion of
true peace.

DISCIPLE.

Lord ! what shall I do ?

CHRIST.

2. Keep a strict guard over all thy words and
actions ; and let the bent of tliy mind be to please

225

me only, and to desire and seek after no good but
me : and if, with this, thou refrainest from censur-
in<T the words and actions of other men, and dost not
perplex thy spirit with business that is not committed
to thy trust, thou wilt but seldom feel trouble, and
never feel much.

3. Indeed, to be wholly exempt from trouble,
and suffer no distress either of mind or body, belongs
not to thy present life, in which is much evil; but
is the prerogative of that perfect state, where evil
is not known. Think not, therefore, that thou hast
found true peace, when thou happenest to feel no
bui'dcn of sin or sorrow •, that all is well, when thou
meetest with no adversary; and that perfection is
then attained, when thy life regularly corresponds
with thy own incHnations. Neither exalt thyself in
thy own esteem as the pecuHar favourite of heaven,
because thou hast felt the raptures of devotion, and
tasted the ineffable sweetness of spiritual fervour:
for by these marks, the lover of perfection is not
known : nor doth perfection itself, and man's pro-
gress towards it, consist in such exemptions and en-
joyments.

DISCIPLE.

In what then, O Lord ?

CHRIST.

4. In offering up himself with his whole heart, to
the will of God; never seeking his own \vill, either
in small or great respects, either in time or in eter-
nity; but with an equal mind, weighing all events

k3

226

in the balance of the sanctuary, and receiving both
prosperity and adversity with continual thanksgiving.

5. If thou wert so courageous, so patient and
persevering, that when deprived of spiritual comfort,
thou couldst prepare thy heart for severer trials, not
justifying thyself, and extolling thy own holiness as
that which ought to have exempted thee from such
sufferings, but justifying me in all my appointments ;
then wouldst thou walk in the direct path to true
peace, and mightest support thy spirit with the sure
hope of seeing my face again in unutterable joy.
The ground of this high attainment, is an absolute
contempt and forgetfulness of self; and when that
is established, know that thou wilt enjoy peace in
as full abundance, as it can possibly be enjoyed in
this state of exile from thy native heaven.

DISCIPLE.

6. Lord ! it is the prerogative of a regenerate
man, never to relax in his desire after his first state
in thee ; and in the midst of the innumerable cares
and dangers that surround him, to pass on without
solicitude, not from insensibility, but by a power of
lifberty peculiar to the mind that is delivered from
inordinate affection to the creatures.

7. I beseech thee, therefore, O my most merciful
God ! to preserve me from the cares of this fallen
life, that my thoughts may not be darkened and
perplexed ; from the importunate wants and necessi-
ties of the body, that I may not be ensnared by the
love of sensual pleasure; and from all the impedi-
ments of the regenerate hfe, that 1 may not be sub-

227

dued and utterly cast down, by trouble and despair.
I mean not from those things only, which the vain
men of this vain world pursue with all the energy of
desire, but from those awful miseries, which, as the
consequence of the penal sentence of mortality, so
encumber and depress the soul of thy servant, that
she cannot enter into the liberty of the Spirit.

8. O my God ! Benignity and sweetness inex-
pressible ! turn into bitterness all carnal consolation,
which is perpetually drawing mv mind from the de-
sire of eternity, and by the intuitive communication
of delight from some good of this present Hfe, allur-
ing me more and more, and binding me faster to
herself. Let not, O my God ! let not flesh and
blood subdue me; let not the world, and the tran-
sient glory of it, deceive me ; let not the devil, and
his subtle reasoning, supplant me. Give me cou-
rage to resist, patience to suffer, and constancy to
persevere ! give me, instead of all worldly comfort,
the divine unction of thy Holy Spirit; and for all
carnal love, pour into my heart the love of thy
blessed name !

9. Behold, the care of food and raiment, which
it is difficult to separate from vain decoration, and
tlie indulgence of the sensual appetite, is grievous
and burdensome to a fervent spirit ! Grant me
grace, therefore, to use all things pertaining to the
body with moderation; and not anxiously to desire
the possession of them, nor bitterly lament the want.
To cast all away, the law of nature does not permit ;
for nature must be sustained: but to desire super-
fluity, and that which ministers to delight more than

228

to use, thy holy law forbids, lest the flesh should
grow insolent, and rebel against the Spirit. In all
these difficult and dangerous paths, let thy wisdom
and power govern and direct me, that I may not de-
viate to the riffht hand, nor to the left 1

CHAPTER XX.

That Self-love is the chief Obstruction to the attain-
ment of the Supreme Good.

CHRIST.

1. My son, thou must give all for all, and make
an absolute surrender of self-possession and self-
enjoyment. The love of self is more hurtful to
the soul, than the united power of the world : for
the creatures of the world have no dominion over
thee, but in proportion to the affection and desire
with which thou adherest to them for thy own sake ;
and if thy love was pure and simple, and fixed only
upon me, no creature would have power to enslave
thee. Covet not that which thou art not permitted
to enjoy; retain not the possession of that which
will obstruct thee in the pursuit of true good, and
rob thee of inward Hberty. How wonderful is it,
that from the depth of thy heart thou dost not re-
sign thyself, and all thou canst desire and possess,
to my will !

2. Why dost thou pine away in useless sorrow ?
why is thy strength consumed by superfluous cares?

229

Establish thyself in absolute resignation to my good
pleasure, and thou canst suffer no evil. But if, for
thy own appropriate good, and the gratification of
thy own will, thou desircst change of enjoyment,
and seekest change of place, thou wilt always be
tormented with anxiety, and made more restless
by disappointment ; for in all earthly good thou wilt
find a mixture of evil to imbitter its possession, and
in every place meet with some adversary to oppose
thy will.

3. It is not, therefore, the acquisition nor the
increase of external good, that will help thee to re-
pose and peace; but rather the contempt of it, and
rooting the very desire of it out of thy heart : and
this is true, not only of the luxury of wealth, but
of the pomp of glory, and the enjoyment of empty
honour and delusive praise, which suddenly pass
away mth the fleeting world where they are sought.

4. Neither can change of place avail, if there is
wanting that fervent spirit devoted to me, which
makes all places alike. Peace sought for abroad,
cannot be found ; and it will never be found by the
heart, that, while it is destitute of me, wants the
very foundation upon which alone peace can be esta-
blished. Thou mayest change thy situation, but
canst not mend it; the evils which thou hast fled
from, will still be found, and more may soon arise ;
for thou hast taken with thee the fruitful root of
every evil, thy own unsubdued selfish will.

DISCIPLE.

5. " Uphold me, O God ! with thy free Spirit !

230

strenfjthen me with mifirht in the inner man !" that
being emptied of all selfish solicitude, I may no
longer be the slave of restless and tormenting de-
sires; but with holy indifference may consider all
earthly good, of whatever kind, as continually pass-
ing away, and my own fallen life as passing with it :
for there is nothing permanent under the sun, where
" all is vanity and vexation of spirit."

6. But what wisdom, O Lord ! can consider this
truly, but that which " was present with thee, when
thou madest the world ; and knew what was accept-
able in thy sight ?" O send me this wisdom " from
the throne of thy glory," that I may learn to know
and seek thee alone, and thus seeking find thee;
that I may love thee, and delight in thee, above all
beings; and that I may understand all that thou
hast made as it is in itself, and regard its various
forms only according to that order in which thy
infinite mind hath disposed them !

7. Grant that I may carefully shun flattery, and
patiently bear contradiction; that neither disturbed
by the rude breath of impotent rage, nor captivated
by the softness of delusive praise, I may securely
pass on in the path of life, which, by thy grace, I
have begun to tread.

231

CHAPTER XXI.

That the perverse Judgments and cruel Censures of
Men are not to he regarded.

CHRIST.

1. Be not impatient, my son, when men think
evil of thee, and speak that which thou art not
willing to hear. Thy own opinion of thyself should
oe much lower than others can form, because thou
art conscious of imperfections which they cannot
know. If thy attention and care were confined to
the life of the internal man, thou wouldst not feel
the influence of fleeting words that dissolve in air.
In times of ignorance and wickedness like this, it
is most wise to hear reproach in silence, and in full
conversion of thy heart to me not to regard the
judgment of men.

2. Let not thy peace then depend upon the com-
mendation or censure of ignorant and fallible crea-
tures like thyself, for they can make no alteration
in thy real character. True peace, and true glory,
are to be found only in me: and he that seeking
them in me loves not the praise of men, nor fears
their blame, shall enjoy peace in great abundarce;
for by such love, and such fear, nothing but disci der
and disquietude are produced.

232

CHAPTER XXII.

Of Submission to God in the hour of Tribulation,
and Confidence in returning Grace.

DISCIPLE.

1. Blessed be thy name, O Lord, for ever,
who hath permitted this tribulation to come upon
me ! I am not able to fly from it ; but it is neces-
sary for me to fly to thee, that thou may est support
me under it, and make it instrumental to my good.
I am in deep distress, and my heart faints and sinks
under the burden of its sorrows. Dearest Father,
encompassed thus with danger, and oppressed witli
fear, what shall I say ? — O save me from this
hour ! — But for this cause came I unto this hour,
that, after being perfectly humbled, thou mightest
have the glory of my deliverance. " Be pleased,
O Lord, to deliver me !" Poor and helpless as I
am, what can I do, and whither shall I go, without
thee? O fortify me under this new distress; be
thou my strength and my support; and whatever be
its weight, whatever its continuance, I will not
fear !

2. And now, what doth thy Spirit enable me to
say? Lord, "thy will be done!" This tribula-
tion and anguish 1 must bear as my due : O that I
may bear it with patience, till the dark storm be
overpast, and light and peace succeed ! Yet thy om-
nipotent arm, my God, my mercy ! as it hath often

233

done before, can remove even this trial from me;
or so graciously mitigate its severity, that I shall
not utterly sink under it : the more difficult it seems
to me, the more easy to thee, is this change " of
thy right hand, O most High !"

CHRIST.

3. "I am the Lord, a strong-hold in the day of
trouble !" when, therefore, trouble rises up within
thee, take sanctuary in me. The support of hea-
venly consolation comes slow, because thou art slow
in the use of prayer; and before thou turnest the
desire and dependence of thy soul to me, hast re-
course to every other comfort, and from the world
and thyself seekest that relief which neither can be-
stow. But thy own experience will convince thee,
that no profitable counsel, no effectual help, no
lasting remedy, is to be found, but in me. When,
therefore, I have calmed the violence of the tempest,
and restored thy fainting spirit, rise with new
strength and confidence in the light of my mercy;
for I, the Lord, declare, that I am always near, to
redeem all fallen nature from its evil, and restore it
to its first state, with superabundant communications
of life, light, and love.

4. Dost thou think, that " there is any thing
too hard for me?" or that I am like vain man, who
promiseth and performeth not? Where, then, and
what is thy faith ? O believe, and persevere ! Pos-
sess thy soul in patience, and comfort will follow in
its proper season. Wait for me; and if I come
not, wait ; for 1 will at length come and heal thee

234

Tliat which afflicts thee, is a trial for thy good;
and that which terrifies thee, is a false and ground-
less fear: and what other effect doth thy extreme
anxiety about the events of to-morrow produce, than
the accumulation of anguish upon anguish? Re-
member my words, " Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof." It is unprofitable and vain, to be
dejected or elevated by the anticipation of that
which may never come to pass. Such disorders of
imagination are, indeed, incident to fallen man :
but it is an evidence of a mind that has yet reco-
vered no strength, to be so easily led away by every
suggestion of the enemy, who cares not whether
it is by realities or fictions, that he tempts and be-
trays thee; whether it is by the love of present
good, or the fear of future evil, that he destroys
thy soul.

5. " Let not," therefore, " thy heart be trou-
bled," neither let it be afraid. " Believe in me,"
whose redeeming power has overcome the world,
and place all thy confidence in my mercy. I am
often nearest thee, when thou thinkest me at the
greatest distance ; and when thou hast given up all
as lost in darkness, the light of life and peace is
ready to break upon thee. All is not lost, when
thy situation happens to be contrary to thy own
partial judgment and selfish will. It is sinful in
itself, and injurious to thy peace, to determine
what will be thy future condition, by arguing from
tliy present perceptions ; to inhere in trouble, what-
ever be its cause, as if it was thy state .of existence ;
and to suffer thy spirit to be so overwhelmed by it,

235

as if all hope of emerging from it was utterly taken
away.

6. Think not thyself, therefore, condemned to
total dereliction, when I permit trihulation to come
upon thee for a season, or suspend the consolations
which thou art always fondly desiring ; for this is
the narrow way to the kingdom of heaven : and it
is more expedient for my servants to be exercised
with many sufferings, than to enjoy that peqietual
rest and delight which they would choose for them-
selves. I, who know the hidden thoughts of thy
heart, and the depth of the evil that is in it, know,
that thy salvation depends upon thy being some-
times left in the full perception of thy own impo-
tence and wretchedness : lest, in the undisturbed
prosperity of the spiritual life, thou shouldst exalt
thyself for what is not thy own, and take compla-
cence in a vain conceit of perfection to which man
of himself cannot attain.

7. The good I bestow, I can both take away and
restore again. When I have bestowed it, it is stiU
mine ; and when I resume it, I take not away that
which is thine ; for there is no good of which I am
not the principle and centre. When, therefore, I
visit thee with adversity, murmur not, neither let
thy heart be troubled ; for I can soon restore thee
to light and peace, and change thy heaviness into
joy : but in all my dispensations, acknowledge,
that I, the Lord, am righteous, and greatly to be
praised.

8. If thou wert wise, and didst behold thyself
and thy fallen state, by that light, with which L

236

who am the Truth, enhghten thee ; instead of griev-
ing and murmuring at the adversities which befal
thee, thou wouldst rejoice and give thanks ; nay, thou
wouldst " count it all joy," that I thus visit thee
with affliction, and spare thee not. I once said to
the disciples whom I chose to attend my ministry
upon earth, " As the Father hath loved me, so have
I loved you :" and I sent them forth into the world,
not to luxury, but to conflict; not to honour, but to
contempt ; not to amusement, but to labour ; not to
take repose, but to " bring forth much fruit with pa-
tience." My son, remember my words !

CHAPTER XXIII.

That the Creator is to he found m abstraction from
the Creatures.

DISCIPLE.

1. O MY God, what a superior portion of grace
do I still want, to be able continually to turn to thee
without adherence to the creatures ; who, while they
retain the least possession of my heart, keep me at
a tremendous distance from thee. He truly desired
this hberty, who said, " O that I had wings like a
dove, for then would I fly away and be at rest !"
And what can be more at rest, than the heart that
in singleness and simplicity regardeth only thee .''
What more free than the soul that hath no earthly
desires ? To be able, therefore, in peaceful vacancy,

237

and with all the energy of my mind, to contemplate
thee, and know that thou infinitely transcendest tlie
most perfect of thy works, it is necessary that I
should rise above all created beings, and utterly for-
sake myself; for while I am bound with the chains
of earthly and selfish affections, I find it impossible
to turn and adhere to thee.

CHRIST.

2. Few, my son, attain to the blessed privilege
of contemplating the infinite and unchangeable good,
because few totally abandon that which is finite and
continually perishing. For this a high degree of
grace is necessary, such as will raise the soul from
its fallen fife, and transport it above itself. And
unless man, by this elevation of spirit, is delivered
from all adherence from the creatures, and united
to God, whatever be his knowledge, and whatever
his virtue, they are of little value : he must remain
in an infant state, grovelling upon earth, while he
esteems any thing great and good but one alone,
the eternal and immutable God ; for whatever is not
God is nothing, and should be held as " less than
vanity and nothing." The difference, therefore,
between the meek wisdom of an illuminated mind
devoted to me, and the pompous wisdom of a criti-
cal and classical divine, is as incommensurate, as
between the knowledge that "is from above, and
cometh down from the Father of light," and that
which is laboriously acquired by the efforts of human
understanding.

3. Many are solicitous to attain to contemplation

238

as an exalted state, who take no care to practise
that abstraction which is necessary to quahfy them
for the enjoyment of it: for while they adhere to
the objects of sense, to external services, and the
sio-ns of true wisdom, instead of the substance, re-
jecting the mortification of self as of no value, they
adhere to that which principally obstructs the pro-
gress to perfection.

DISCIPLE.

4. Alas, Lord ! I know not at what our purposes
aim, nor by what spirit we are led, we who have
assumed the profession and character of spiritual
men, that we exert so much labour, and feel so much
solicitude, about that which is external and perishing,
but scarce ever retire to the sacred solicitude of the
heart, to know what passes within us. Irresolute
and impatient as we are, after a slight recollection,
we rush into the world again, unacquainted with
the nature and end of the actions which we pre-
tended to examine : we heed not by what our affec-
tions are excited, nor in what they terminate; but
like those of old, " when all flesh had corrupted his
way," a universal deluge overwhelms us, and we
are lost in folly, impurity, and darkness. Our in>-
ward principle, therefore, being corrupt, it cannot
but be, that our actions, which, as the symptoms of
the want of spiritual health, flow from it, must be
corrupt also ; for it is only out of a pure heart,
that the divine fruits of a pure life can be brought
forth.

5. We busily inquire what such a man hath

239

done, but not from what principle he did it : we ask
whether this or that man be vaUant, rich, beautiful,
or ingenious ; whether he be a profound scholar, an
elegant writer, or a fine singer; but how poor in
spirit he is, how patient, how meek, how holy and
resigned, we disregard as questions of no importance.
Nature looks at the outward man, but grace only at
the inward; nature dependeth wholly upon itself,
and always errs; grace trusts wholly in God, and is
never deceived.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Of Self-denial^ and the Renunciation of Animal
Desire.

CHRIST.

1. Without a total denial of self, my son, thou
canst not attain the possession of perfect liberty.
All self-lovers and self-seekers are bound in chains
of adamant ; full of desires, full of cares ; restless
wanderers in the narrow circle of sensual pleasure,
perpetually seeking their own luxurious ease, and
not the interests of their self-denying crucified Sa-
viour : but often pretending this, and erecting a fa-
bric of hypocrisy that cannot stand ; for all that is
not of God, must perish.

But do thou, my son, keep invariably to this
short but perfect rule : " Abandon all, and thou
shalt possess all; relinquish desire, and thou shalt

240

find rest." Revolve this again and again in thy
mind ; and when thou hast transfused it into thy
practice, thou wilt understand all things.

DISCIPLE.

2. Lord ! this is not the work of a single day,
nor an exercise for children ; for in this short pre-
cept is included the high attainments of a " perfect
man in" thee.

CHRIST.

Start not aside, my son, nor be depressed with
fear, when thou hearest of the way of the perfect ;
but rather be excited to walk in it, and, at least, to
aspire after it with all the energy of desire. O that
self-love was so far subdued in thee, that with pure
submision thou couldst adhere to the intimations
of my will, as well in the government of thy spirit,
as in the disposals of my providence with respect to
thy outward situation ! thou wouldst then be pleas-
ing and acceptable in my sight, and thy life would
pass on in peace and joy. But thou hast still much
to abandon, which must be wholly surrendered up to
me, before that rest which thou so earnestly seekest
can be found. " I counsel thee," therefore, " to
buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest
be rich ;" heavenly wisdom, which trampleth the earth,
and its enjoyments, under her feet. Renounce all
earthly wisdom, and all complacency both in the
world and in thyself.

3. I have told thee, that what is low and vile in
human estimation, is to be purchased at the expense

241

of what is exalted and precious : and most vile and
contemptible among men, most unworthy of thought
and remembrance, is heavenly wisdom; that wisdom,
which vaunteth not herself, nor seeketh the applause
of men ; and which many " honour with their lips,"
but in their hearts renounce; and yet it is " the
pearl of great price," which, while thus despised
and rejected by men, must be hidden from them.

CHAPTER XXV.

Of the InstabiUty of the Heart ; and of directing
the Intention to God alone.

CHRIST.

1. Trust not, my son, to the ardour of a pre-
sent affection, for it will soon be past, and coldness
will succeed. As long as thou livest in this fallen
world, thou wilt, even against thy will, be subject to
perpetual mutability ,' now joyful, and now sad ; now
peaceful, and now disturbed ; at one time ardent in
devotion, at another insensible; to-day diligent, to-
morrow slothful; this hour serious, and the next
trifling and vain. But he that hath true wisdom,
and deep experience in the spiritual life, is raised
above the fluctuation of this changeable state; he
regards not what he feels in himself, nor whence
the wind of instability blows; but studies only that
his mind may be directed to its supreme and final
good. And thus, in all the various events of this

L 1

242

changeable life, he remains unchanged and unmoved,
by directing aright the eye of his intention, and fix-
ing it solely upon me.

2. In most men, this eye of the intention soon
waxeth dim; it is easily diverted by intervening
objects of sensual good, and it is seldom free from
some natural blemish of self-seeking: thus, those
Jews, who went to Bethany, to the house of Martha
and Mary, went not only to see and hear Jesus, but
to gaze upon Lazarus, whom he had just raised from
the dead. The eye of the intention, therefore, must
be continually purified, till it becomes perfectly sin-
gle, and, beyond all intermediate objects of pleasure
and profit, looks solely unto me.

CHAPTER XXVL

That the Soul which loves God, enjoys him in all
things, and above all ; and in him findeth Peace.

DISCIPLE.

1. Behold, thou art my God, and my all!
What would I desire more ? What higher happi-
ness can I possibly enjoy ? O sweet and transport-
ing sounds ! but to him only who loveth " not the
world, neither the things that are in the world," but
thee. My God, and my all ! Enough to say, for
him that understandeth ; and often to say it, dehght-
ful to him that loveth !

2. When blessed with thy presence, all that we

243

circ and have is sweet and desirable : but in thy
absence, it becomes loathsome. Thou calmest the
troubled heart, and givest true peace, and holy joy ;
thou makest us to think well of all thy dispensa-
tions, and to praise thee in all. Without thee, the
highest advantages cannot please long; for to make
them truly grateful, thy grace must be present, and
they must be seasoned with the seasoning of thy
own wisdom.

3. What bitterness becomes not sweet to him
that truly tasteth thee? and to him by whom thou
art not relished, what sweetness will not be bitter .''
The wise of this world, and those that delight in
the enjoyments of the flesh, are destitute of the wis-
dom that enjoyeth thee; for in the world is found
only vanity, and in the flesh death. But they who,
by the contempt of the world, and the mortification
of the flesh, truly follow thee, know, that they are
wise in thy wisdom ; and find themselves translated
from, vanity to truth, from the flesh to the Spirit.
These alone enjoy God : and whatever is found good
and delightful in the creature, they refer to the
praise and glory of the Creator. Great, however,
infinitely great, is the difference between the enjoy-
ment of the Creator as he is in himself, and as
he is discovered in imperfect creatures; of eternity,
and of time; of uncreated light, and of light com-
municated,

4. O eternal Light, infinitely surpassing all that
thou illuminatest, let thy brightest beams descend
upon my heart, and penetrate its inmost recesses I
O purify, exhilarate, enlighten, and enliven my spi-

L 2

244

rit, that vvith all its power it may adhere to thee m
raptures of triumphant joy ! O when will the bless-
ed and desirable moment come, in which thou wilt
satisfy me with thy presence, and be in me and to
me all in all ? For till this is granted me, my joy
cannot be full.

5. Wretched creature that I am ! I find the old
man still living in me ; he is not yet crucified, he
is not yet perfectly dead. The flesh still strongly
lusteth against the spirit, still kindles the rage of
war, and suffers not " thy kingdom within me" to
be at peace.

6. But do thou, O God ! " who controllest the
power of the sea, and stillest the raging of its waves,"
arise, and help me ! " scatter thou those that delight
in war !" O break them in pieces with thy mighty
power ! Show forth, I beseech thee, the wonders
of thy greatness, and let thy right hand be glorified !
for there is no hope nor refuge for me, but in thee,
O Lord, my God !

CHRIST.

7. As long as thou livest in this world, my son,
thou canst not live secure, but wilt always have need
of " the whole armour of God." Thou art encom-
passed with enemies, who assault thee behind and
before, on the right hand and on the left; and if
thou dost not defend thyself on every side with the
shield of patience, thou canst not long escape some
dangerous wound : if thy heart is not fixed upon me,
with a true and unalterable resolution of suffering
all things for my sake, thou wilt never be able to

245

sustain the fury of the conflict, nor obtain the palm
of victory that distinguishes the saints in bUss.
Thou must, therefore, with a lively faith, and a
holy resolution of conquering all opposition, pass
through the various dangers that surround thee;
and " to him that thus ovcrcometh, I will give to
eat of the hidden manna," while for the slothftd
and unbelieving is reserved the portion of various
misery.

8. If thou seekest rest in this life, how wilt thou
attain to the everlasting rest of the hfe to come?
Thou must prepare thy heart for the exercise of
many and great troubles, not for the enjoyment of
coniinual rest : true rest is to be found, not on earth,
but in heaven ; not in the enjoyment of man, or any
other 'creature, but of God. For the love of God,
therefore, thou must cheerfully and patiently endure
labour and sorrow, persecution, temptation, and
anxiety, poverty and want, pain and sickness, de-
traction, reproof, humihation, confusion, correction,
and contempt. By these the virtues of " the new
man in Christ Jesus," are exercised and strength-
ened ; these form the ornaments of his celestial
crown; and for his momentary labour I will give
him eternal rest, and endless glory for transient
shame.

9. Dost thou expect to enjoy the consolations of
the Spirit, as long as thou pleasest ! My saints
expected it not, neither did they enjoy it : but with
humble resignation endured painful labours, severe
temptations, and protracted desertions, confiding not
in themselves, but in me : for they knew, that " the

246

sufferings of the present time were not worthy to be
compared with the glory that should be revealed in
them." And wouldst thou enter into the imme-
diate possession of that, which these men, after so
many tears, and such severe conflicts, scarcely at-
tained ? " O wait on the Lord ; be of good courage ;
and he shall strengthen thy heart." Distrust me
not, neither depart from me; but continually devote
both soul and body to my service, and my glory.
" Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with
me !" and till I come, my Spirit will be thy com-
forter in every tribulation.

CHAPTER XXVII.

Against the Fear of Man,

CHRIST.

1. My son, fix thy heart steadfastly upon the
Lord; and while thy own conscience bears testimony
to thy purity and innocence, fear not the judgment
of man. It is good and blessed to suffer the cen-
sure of human tongues ; nor will the suffering itself
be grievous to the poor and humble in spirit, who
confideth not in himself, but in God.

2. The opinions and reports of men are as various
as their persons, and are, therefore, entitled to little
credit. Besides, it is impossible to please all : and
though Paul endeavoured to please all men in the
Lord, and was " made all things to all;" yet, with

247

him, it was " a very small thing to be judtred of
man's judgment." This faithful servant laboured
continually to promote the edification and salvation
of men ; but their unjust judgments, and cruel cen-
sures, he was not able to restrain : he therefore
committed his cause to God, who knoweth all things;
and sheltered himself afjainst the false sujrorestions
of the deceitful, and the more open reproaches of
the licentious, under the guard of patience and hu-
miHty : yet he sometimes found it expedient to sup-
port his character, that he might not give occasion
of scandal to the weak, who are too apt from silence
to infer guilt.

3. « Who," then, « art thou, that thou shouldst
be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of
man who shall be made as grass, which to-day is,
and to-morrow is cast into the oven?" Fear God,
who is " a consuming fire," and thou wilt no longer
tremble at the terrors of man. What hurt can man
do thee, by his most malignant censures, or his most
cruel actions? He injureth himself more than he
can injure thee; and whoever he be, he shall not
escape the righteous judgment of God. Set God,
therefore, continually before thy eyes, and strive
not with the injustice of man: and though at pre-
sent thou art overborne by its violence, and suf-
ferest shame which thou hast not deserved; yet
suppress thy resentment, and let not impatience ob-
scure the lustre of thy crown. Look up to me in
the highest heavens, who am able to deliver thee
from all evil, and will render to every one according
to his deeds.

248

CHAPTER XXVIII.

That perfect Freedom can only he obtained hy a
total Surrender of Self-wilL

CHRIST.

1. « He that loseth his hfe, shall find it." For-
sake thyself, my son, and thou wilt find me. Re-
nounce all self-seeking, all peculiarity of possession,
and thou shalt enjoy the true riches. For the mo-
ment thou hast made such an absolute surrender of
thyself as to leave no ground for resumption, thou
wilt be qualified to receive those abundant measures
of grace which I am ever ready to bestow.

DISCIPLE.

2. How often. Lord, must I perform this solemn
act of resignation, and in what instances is self to be
thus relinquished ?

CHRIST.

At all times, my son, as well this hour as the
next ; and in all interests, not only of thy temporary,
but thy everlasting state ; I admit no exceptions,
but expect to find thee divested of all that can be
called thy own : and till thou art stripped of self-
will, with respect both to thy outward situation, and
the state of thy spirit, it is impossible that thou
canst be mine, and I tliine. The sooner, therefore,
thou makest this surrender of thyself, and the more

2^9

sincere and pure it is, the more acceptable will it be
to me, and the greater, consequently, thy own gain.

3. Many boast of this act of resignation, who
perform it with secret reservations : they place not
their whole confidence in God, but keep back some
supports of self-dependence. With others it is at
first sincere; but as soon as the storms of temptation
beat upon them, they resume the gift they had
made ; and turning back to themselves, find they
are at a vast distance from the path of liberty and
peace which they had begun to tread. These can-
not possibly attain the freedom of a pure heart, nor
enjoy the transporting intercourses of my friendship ;
for without a total resignation and daily sacrifice of
self, the beatific union cannot be formed.

4. I have said to thee often, and now say to thee
again. Forsake thyself, resign thyself, and thou shalt
enjoy the plenitude of heavenly peace. Give all
for all; seek nothing for thyself, call for nothing
back; adhere firmly and unchangeably to me, as
the condition of possessing me; and thus thou wilt
attain the freedom of a heaven-born spirit, and dark-
ness shall overwhelm thee no more. Let it be thy
continual thought, thy living desire, thy unceasing
prayer, that, stripped of all self-possession and self-
enjojTnent, thou mayest naked follow thy naked
Master; die to thyself, and live eternally to me.
Then, the phantoms of vain imagination shall dis-
appear, the tumult of evil passions subside, and the
torments of anxiety be felt no more; then immo-
derate fear, and inordinate love, shall alike be driven
from their dwelling in thy heart.

l3

250

CHAPTER XXIX.

Of Self-Government in the Concerns of the present
Ltfe, and of having recourse to God in all its
Difficulties and Dangers.

CHRIST.

1. Endeavour, my son, in every place, and
in every external employment and action, to be in-
wardly free, and master of thyself; that the business
and events of life, instead of ruling over thy spirit,
may be subject to it. Of all thy actions, thou must
be, not the servant and slave, but the absolute lord
and governor; a free and genuine Israelite, trans-
lated into the inheritance and liberty of the sons of
God; who stand upon the interests of time, to con-
template the glories of eternity; who cast only a
hasty glance on the transitory enjoyments of earth,
and keep their eye fixed upon the permanent felicity
of heaven; and who, instead of makmg temporal
objects and interests an ultimate end, render them
subservient to some purpose of piety or charity,
even as they were ordained by God, the sovereign
mind, who formed the stupendous fabric, in which
nothing disorderly was left.

2. If thus, in all events, thou sufFerest not thy-
self to be governed by appearances, nor regardest
what is heard and seen with a carnal purpose; but
in every difiiculty and danger enterest immediately
into the Tabernacle with Moses, to consult the Lord,

251

thou shalt often receive an answer from the divine
Oracle, and return deeply instructed both in things
present and things to come. And as Moses always
retired to that holy place, for the determination of
doubtful and disputed questions ; and fled to prayer,
for aid in times of danger and wickedness ; so shouldst
thou also enter the sacred temple of thy heart, and,
on the same occasions, fervently implore the guid-
ance and support of divine wisdom and strength.
Thou hast read, that Joshua and the children of
Israel, " because they asked not counsel at the
mouth of the Lord," were betrayed into a league
Avith the Gibeonites, being deluded by fictitious
piety, and giving hasty credit to deceitful words.

CHAPTER XXX.

Against anxiety and impetuosity in the Concerns of
the World.

CHRIST.

1. Commit thy cause invariably to me, my son,
and 1 will give it a right issue in due season. Wait
patiently the disposals of my providence, and thou
shalt find " all things work together for thy good."

DISCIPLE.

Lord, I would most wiUingly resign my state,
present and future, to thy disposal; for my own
restless solicitude, and feeble reasoning, serve only

252

to perplex and torment me. O that I took no
thought for the events of to-morrow, but could
every moment unreservedly offer up all I am to
thy good pleasure !

CHRIST.

2. Man vehemently labours, my son, for the ac-
quisition of that which he desires; but possession
defeats enjoyment, and his desire, which is restless
and insatiable, is immediately turned to some new
object. It is, therefore, of great importance, to
suppress desire and forsake self, in the most incon-
siderable gratifications.

3. Self-denial is the basis of spiritual perfection ;
and he that truly denies himself, is arrived at a state
of great freedom and safety. The old enemy,
however, whose nature is most repugnant to that
which is most good, never remits his diligence ; but
night and day forms the most dangerous ambuscades,
if perad venture, in some moment of false security,
he may surprise and captivate the unwary soul.
I have, therefore, cautioned thee, continually to
" watch and pray, that thou enter not into tempta-

253

CHAPTER XXXL

That, in Man, there is no Good; and ihat^ there-
fore, he has nothing in "johich to glorj/.

DISCIPLE.

1. " Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful
of him; and the son of man, that thou visitest him ?"
What, indeed, is he, and what hath he done, that
thou shouldst bestow upon him thy Holy Spirit.

What cause have I to complain, O Lord, when
thou withdrawest thy presence, and leavest me to
myself? or what can I remonstrate, when my most
importunate requests are not granted? This only I
can truly think and say : " Lord, I can do nothing,
and have nothing : there is no good dwelling in me
that I can call my own, but I am poor and destitute
in all respects, and always tending to nothing : and
if I was not quickened and formed to life and light
by thy Spirit, I should immediately become dark and
insensible as death.'*

2. " Thou, O Lord, art always the same, and
shalt endure for ever." Thou art always righteous
and good ; with righteousness and goodness govern-
ing the whole universe, and ordering all its concerns
by the counsels of infinite wisdom. But I, who in
myself am more inclined to evil than to good, never
continue in holiness and peace ; I am changeable as
the events of time that pass over me, and am tossed
upon every wave of affliction, and driven by every

254

gust of passion. Yet, Lord, I shall find stability,
when thou reachest forth thy helping hand ; for thou
canst so firmly strengthen and support me, that my
heart shall no lonfjer chanf]je with the various changes
of this fallen life, but being wholly turned to thee,
s^hall in thee find supreme and everlasting rest.

3. Wherefore, if I could but perfectly abandon
all human consolation, either from a purer love and
devotion to thee; or from the pressure of some se-
vere distress, which, when all other dependence was
found ineffectual, might compel me to seek after
thee ; then might I hope to receive more abundant
measures of confirming grace, and to rejoice in new
and inconceivable consolations of thy Holy Spirit.

4. But thanks be to thee, O Lord, from whom
all good proceeds, whenever my state is better than
1 have reason to expect. I am an inconstant and
feeble man, and vanity and nothing before thee.
What have I then to glory in ? and why do I de-
sire to be esteemed and admired? Is it not, for
nothing? and that, surely, is most vain. Vainglory
is not only the vainest of all vanities, but a direful
evil, that draws away the soul from true glory, and
robs it of the grace of heaven: for while man la-
bours to please himself, he labours to displease thee ;
while he sighs for the perishing laurels of the world,
he loses the unfading crown of thy righteousness.

5. True glory and holy joy, are to be found only
in thee; and man should rejoice in thy name, not
in the splendour of his own imaginary virtues; and
delight in no creature, but for thy sake. Praised,
therefore, be thy name, not mine ; magnified be thy

255

power, not my work ! yea, for ever blessed be thy
holy name ; but, to me, let no praise be given !
Thou art my glory, and the joy of my heart ! In
thee will I glory, and in thee rejoice, all the day
long; and " of myself I will not glory, but in mine
infii-mities !"

6. Let men " seek glory one of another;" I will
seek that " glory which cometh only from thee,"
my God. For all human glory all temporal ho-
nour, all worldly grandeur, is vanity and folly; and
vanishes like darkness, before the splendour of thy
eternal majesty ! O my truth, my mercy, my God !
O holy and blessed Trinity ! Fountain of life,
light and love ! to thee alone be praise, honour,
power, and glory ascribed, through the endless
ages of eternity ! Amen.

CHAPTER XXXII.

Of the Contempt of all temporal Honour^ and the
Renunciation of all human Comfort.

CHRIST.

1. Grieve not my son, when others are honour-
ed and exalted, and thou art despised and debased.
Lift up thy heart to me in heaven, and thou wilt
not be disturbed by the contempt of men on earth.

DISCIPLE.

2. Lord, I am surrounded ^yith darkness, and

256

easily betrayed into a vain conceit of my o\vn dignity
and importance : but when I behold myself by thy
light, I know that no creature has done me wrong;
and, therefore, surely, I have no cause to complain
of thee. On the contrary, because I have heinous-
ly and repeatedly sinned against thee, all creatures
may justly treat me as an enemy, and make war
against me. To me only shame and confusion of
face are due; but to thee, praise, and honour, and
glory. And till I am perfectly wilHng to be despised
and forsaken of all creatures, as that nothincr which
in myself I truly am ; 1 know, that my restless spirit
cannot possibly be established in peace, nor illumi-
nated by truth, nor brought into union with thee.

CHRIST.

3. Son, if thou sufFerest even a conformity of
sentiments and manners, and the reciprocations of
friendship, to render thy peace dependent upon any
human being, thou wilt always be unsettled and dis-
tressed; but if thou continually seekest after me
the ever-living and abiding truth, as the supreme
object of thy faith and love, the loss of a friend will
be no affliction, whether it happens by falsehood or
by death. The affections of friendship must spring
from the love of me ; and it is for my sake alone,
that any person should be dear in the present life,
as there is no goodness in man but what he receives
immediately from me. Without me, therefore,
friendship has neither worth nor stability; nor can
there be any mutual ardours of pure and genuine
love, but what I inspire.

257

4. As far as the distinct improvement and per-
fection of thy own spirit is concerned, tliou shouldst
be so mortified to all these personal aflPections and
attachments, as to be able to live sequestered from
human converse ; for the soul drawc near to God,
only in proportion as it withdraws from all earthly
comfort ; with so much higher exaltation doth it as-
cend to him, as, with deeper conviction of its in-
herent darkness and impurity, it descends into itself,
and becomes viler and more contemptible in its own
sight. But he that challengeth and appropriateth
any good to himself, bars the entrance to the grace
of God ; for the Holy Spirit chooses, for the seat of
his influence, a contrite and humble heart.

5. If thou wert brought to a true sense of thy
own nothingness, and emptied of all selfish and
earthly affections, I would, surely, " Come unto
thee" with the treasures of grace, and make my
abode with thee : but while thou fondly gazest upon,
and pursuest the creature, thou turnest from the
presence and sight of the Creator. Learn, there-
fore, for the love of the Creator, to subdue this
earth-born love of the creature, and thou wilt be
qualified to receive the light of eternal truth. It
matters not how inconsiderable the object of pursuit
is in itself: while it is vehemently loved, and con-
tinually regarded, it corrupts the soul, and keeps it
at an infinite distance from its supreme good.

258

CHAPTER XXXITI.
Of the Vanity of Human Learning.

CHRIST.

1. Be not captivated, my son, by the subtilty
and elegance of human compositions ; for " the
kingdom of God is not in word, but in power."
Attend only to the truths of my word, which en-
lighten the understanding, and inflame the heart;
which excite compunction, and pour forth the balm
of true consolation. But read my word, not for the
reputation of critical skill and controversial wisdom,
but to learn how to mortify thy evil passions; a
knowledge of infinitely more importance, than the
solution of all the abstruse questions that have per-
plexed men's mind's, and divided their opinions.

2. When, however, thou hast meekly and dili-
gently read ray word, still thou must have recourse
to me as the only principle of divine truth. I am
he that teacheth man knowledge, and giveth to the
simple that light and understanding which no hu-
man instruction can communicate. He who listen-
eth only to my voice, shall soon become wise, and
be renewed in the spirit of truth. But, woe be to
them, who, instead of turning to me to learn what
is my will, devote their time and labour to the vain
theories of human speculation ! A day will come,
when Christ, the Teacher of teachers, the Light and
Lord of angels, shall appear, and at his omniscient

259

tribunal hear the lessons which conscience has given
to all : and then " shall Jerusalem be searched with
candles ; the hidden things of darkness shall be
brouirht to lifrht," and the clamorous tonfijue of rea-
soning and disputing man shall be silent as the
grave !

3. I am he, who exalteth the humble and simple
mind, and suddenly imparteth to it such a percep-
tion of eternal truth, as it could not acquire by a
life of laborious study in the schools of men. I
teach not, like men, with the clamour of uncertain
words, or the confusion of opposite opinions; with
vain learning, or the ostentation of learning yet
more vain ; or with the strife of formal disputation,
in which victory is more contended for than truth :
I teach, in still and soft whispers, to rehnquish
earth, and seek after heaven, to loathe carnal and
temporary enjoyments, and sigh for spiritual and
eternal; to shun honour, and to bear contempt ; to
place all hope and dependence upon me, to desire
nothing besides mei and above all in heaven and on
earth most ardently to love me.

4. By an intimate and supreme love of me, some
have been wonderfully filled with divine knowledge,
and spoken truths beyond the comprehension of man ;
and thus, by forsaking themselves, they have found
that light, to which the most subtle disquisitions of
their own minds could not lead them.

5. To some, I speak only of common truths ; to
others, of those that are singular and exalted: I
make myself known to some, under the more fami-
liar appearance of human forms ; and, by a sudden

260

and immediate communication of divine light, open
the deepest mysteries to others. Though my written
word speaks the same language to all, yet with-
out me it does not impart the same instruction : I, as
the internal principle of light to angels and men, am
the only teacher of divine truth ; I search the heart,
and comprehend the most secret thoughts ; I am the
author and finisher of every good work : and, for the
ornament and perfection of my mystical body, I be-
stow upon the members of it " a diversity of gifts,
dividing to every man severally as I will."

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Of Disengagedness from the Business of the' World,
and the Opinions of Men.

CHRIST.

1. It is expedient for thee, my son, to be ig-
norant of many things ; and to consider thyself as
" crucified to the world, and the world to thee."
Like one deaf, let what is said pass by thee unno-
ticed, that thou maycst keep thy thoughts fixed on
"the things that belong unto thy peace." It is
better to turn away from all that produces perplexity
and disturbance, and to leave every one in the en-
joyment of his own opinion, than to be held in sub-
jection by contentious arguments. If thou wert
truly " reconciled to God," and didst regard only
his unerring judgment, thou wouldst easily bear the

261

disgrace of yielding up the victory in the debates of
men.

DISCIPLE.

2. O Lord ! into wliat depths of this earthly
life must we be fallen, that the loss of what is call-
ed its good, should be lamented in the bitterness
of sorrow; and the acquisition of it pursued with
ardent desire, and unremitted labour; while the in-
jury that in both is done to the immortal spirit, is
either not felt, or so soon and so much forgotten, as
scarce ever to be recollected more ! " About many
things" that have neither worth nor duration, we
are perpetually vigilant and busy ; while the " one
thing" supremely "needful," is neglected and pass-
ed by as of no unportance. The whole man plunges
into the stream of sensual hfe; and unless thou
awaken in him a sense of danger, and suddenly stop
his course, he is borne away with the torrent, and is
lost.

CHAPTER XXXV.

Of Credulity in the Promises and Professions of
Men,

DISCIPLE. '

1. Do thou, O Lord, "give me help from trou-
ble; for vain is the help of man !" How often have
I failed of support, where I thought myself sure of

262

it ; and how often found it, where I had least rea-
son to expect it ! Vain and deceitful, therefore, is
all trust in man ; but the salvation of the righteous,
O Lord, is in thee ! Blessed, therefore, be thy holy
name, O Lord, my God, in all things that befall us !
We are weak and unstable creatures, easily deceived,
and suddenly changed.

2. Where is the man, that, by his own most
prudent care and watchful circumspection, is always
able to avoid the mazes of error and the disorders of
sin? But he, O Lord, that puts his whole confi-
dence in thee, and in singleness of heart seeks thee
alone, will not easily be betrayed into either: and
though he chance to fall into some unexpected trou-
ble, and be ever so deeply involved in it ; yet thy
merciful hand will soon deliver him from it, or thy
powerful consolations support him in it; for thou
wilt not utterly forsake him that putteth his whole
trust in thee. A comforter, that will continue faith-
ful in all the distresses of his friend, is rarely to be
found among the children of men, but thou, Lord,
thou art most faithful at all times, and in all events;
and there is none like unto thee in heaven or earth.
O how divinely wise must be that holy soul, who
could say, " My heart is firmly established, for it is
rooted in Christ." If this was my state, I should
no longer tremble at the threats of wrath, nor be
disturbed by the calumnies of envy.

3. Who can foresee future events? Who can
guard against future evil? If those evils that are
foreseen, often hurt us ; we cannot but be grievously
wounded by those that are unforeseen. But, wretch-

263

ed creature that I am, why did I not provide more
wisely for the security of my peace ^ Why have I
given such easy credit to men hke myself, who are
all destitute both of wisdom and power, though many
think us, and call us angels? Whom ought I to
have believed? Whom, Lord ! but thee, who art
the truth, that can neither deceive, nor be deceived !
But " all men are liars :" so frail and inconstant, so
prone to deceive in the use of words, that hasty cre-
dit is never to be given, even to those declarations
that wear the appearance of truth.

4. How wisely hast thou warned us, O Lord,
to "beware of men !" How justly said, that "a
man's enemies are the men of his own house !" and
how kindly commanded us to withhold belief, when
it is said, " Lo, Christ is here : or, lo, he is there !"
I have learned these truths, not only from thy word,
but at the expense of peace ; and I pray, that they
may more increase the caution than manifest the folly
of my future conduct.

5. With the most solemn injunctions of secrecy,
one says to me, " Be wary, be faithful ; and let
what I tell thee be securely locked up in thy own
breast :" and while I hold my peace, and beheve the
secret inviolate, this man, unable to keep the silence
he had imposed, to the next person he meets be-
trays both himself and me, and goes his way to repeat
the same folly. From such false and imprudent
spirits, protect me, O Lord ! that I may neither be
deceived by their insincerity, nor imitate their prac-
tices. Give truth and faithfulness to my lips, and
remove far from me a deceitful tongue ; that I may

264

not do that to another, which I am unwilling another
should do to me.

6. How peaceful and blessed a state must that
man enjoy, who takes no notice of the opinions and
actions of others ; who does not indiscriminately be-
lieve, nor wantonly report, every thing he hears ;
who, instead of unbosoming himself to all he meets,
continually looks up to thee, the only Searcher of
the heart ; and who is not " carried about with every
wind of doctrine," but studies and desires only,
that every thing both within him and without him,
may be directed and accomplished according to thy
will!

7. It is of great importance. Lord, for the pre-
servation and improvement of thy heavenly gift, to
shun the notice of the world ; and, instead of culti-
vating attainments that attract admiration and ap-
plause, to aspire, with continual ardour, after inward
purity, and a perfect elevation of the heart to thee.
How often has the growth of holiness been checked,
by its being too hastily made known, and too highly
commended ! And how greatly hath it flourished,
in that humble state of silence and obscurity, so de-
sirable in the present life, which is one scene of
temptation, one continual warfare !

265

CHAPTER XXXVI.

Of Confidence in the righteous Judgment of God^
under the various Accusations of Men.

CHRIST.

1. Place all thy hope, my son, in my mercy,
and stand firm against the accusations of men ; for
what are words, but percussions of the air, that are
of short continuance, and leave no impression ? If
thou art guilty, resolve to make the accusation an
occasion of amendment ; if thou art innocent, resolve
to submit to it willingly, and bear it patiently, for
my sake. It is, surely, a little matter for thee, who
hast not yet endured the lasting pain of cruel stripes,
sometimes to bear the light buffeting of transient
words. And could so small an affliction make such
a deep impression upon thy heart, if thou wert not
still carnal, and didst not set too high a value upon
the favour and applause of men ? Thou art afraid
of being despised; and, therefore, canst not bear
reprehension, but labourest to conceal thy iniquities,
or palliate them by mean excuses. But examine
now the state of thy heart ; and thou must confess,
that the world still liveth in thee, and that a vain
desire of pleasing men is the governing principle of
aU thy actions ; for whilst thou refusest to be brought
to shame, and buffeted for thy faults, it is evident,
that thou art not yet truly humbled, not yet " cru-
cified to the world, nor the world to thee."

u 1

266

2. Give ear to my word, and thou wilt not be
moved by ten thousand opprobrious words of men.
Consider, if every thing was said against thee that
the most extravagant malignity can suggest, what
hurt could it possibly do thee, if thou only let it
pass without resentment, regarding it no more than
a mote that floats in the sun-beams ? Could it even
pluck from thy head a single hair? He that liveth
not in my presence manifested in his heart, is easily
disturbed by the Hghtest breath of human censure ;
but he that referreth his cause to me, without the
least dependence on his own partial judgment, shall
be free from the fear of man. I am the sole judge
of man's actions, and the discerner of his most se-
cret thoughts : I know the nature, the cause, and the
effect of every injury ; and make a just estimate of
the wrong that is done by the injurious, and sustained
by the sufferer. The word of reproach came forth
from me ; it was uttered by my permission, " that
the thoughts of many hearts might be revealed :" for
though the innocent and the guilty shall be judged
in the face of the whole world at the last day, yet it
is my will to try both beforehand, by a secret judg-
ment unknown to all but myself.

3. The testimony of man is fallible, partial, and
changeable; my judgment is true, righteous, and
permanent as my own being. In its general com-
prehension it is hidden to all, and in particular parts
known only to a few ; yet it never errs, nor can pos-
sibly err, though in the sight of fools it seemeth not
right. To me, therefore, thou must refer thy cause
in all human accusation, and not trust to the blind

267

and partial determinations of tliy own mind. The
rigliteous will never be moved by whatever befalls
him, for he knows that it comes from the hand of
God: whether, therefore, he is falsely accused, he
will not be cast down ; or whether he is justly de-
fended, he will not triumph : for he considereth,
that " 1 the Lord, search the heart, and try the
reins ;" that I judge not, as man judgeth, by deceit-
ful appearances; and that, therefore, what is highly
esteemed by him, is often abomination in my sight.

DISCIPLE.

4. O Lord God, the consciousness of innocence
is not sufficient to sustain me under the pressure of
false accusation : be thou, therefore, O most righte-
ous and most merciful Judge, the Omniscient and
Ahnighty, who knowest all the darkness, impurity,
and frailty of man, be thou my confidence and my
strength !

5. Thou knowest what I know not ; thou know-
est my secret faults, and how justly I deserve con-
tinual reprehension and rebuke : I ought, therefore,
whether I think I deserve it or not, to humble my-
self under every reproof of man, and bear it with
meekness. O pardon me, as often as I have not
done this ; and mercifully bestow upon me the grace
of more perfect submission !

6. It is, surely, much safer for me to depend for
deliverance from all my evil, upon the free and
boundless mercy manifested in thy sacred humanity ;
than presuming upon particular instances of imper-
fect righteousness, to justify myself before men-

m2'

268

when there is so much evil in me that escapes the
notice of my own mind; and though in many in-
stances my conscience condemns me not, yet am I
not therefore justified ; because, without the merciful
" gift of righteousness" which is in thee, no man
living "• can be justified in thy sight."

CHAPTER XXXVII.

That all the Afflictions of the present State are to he
patiently endured, for the hope of eternal Life,

CHRIST.

1. My son, neither let the labours which thou
hast voluntarily undertaken for my sake, break thy
spirit ; nor the afflictions that come upon thee in the
course of my providence, utterly cast thee down;
but make my promise to be with thee and bless thee,
thy strength and comfort in every duty, and in all
events ; I am an abundant recompense, above all
comprehension, and all hope. Thou shalt not long
labour here, nor groan under the pressure of con-
tinual trouble. Wait patiently the accomplishment
of my will, and thou shalt see a speedy end of all
evil: the hour will quickly come, when labour and
sorrow shall cease ; for every thing is inconsiderable
and short, that passeth away in the current of time.

2. What thou hast to do, therefore, do with all
thy strength. Labour faithfully in my vineyard ; I
myself will be thy reward. Write, read, sing my

269

praises, bewail thy own sins, keep silence, pray in
the spirit, and with patient resolution bear all afflic-
tions ; eternal life is worthy not only of such watch-
ful dilisence, but of the severest conflicts.

3. On a certain day known only to the Lord,
the reign of the Prince of Peace will commence;
when, instead of the vicissitudes of day and night,
joy and sorrow, that are now known, there shall be
uninterrupted light, infinite splendour, unchange-
able peace, and everlasting rest. Then thou wilt
no longer say, " Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death?" nor exclaim, " Woe is me,
that my pilgrimage is prolonged !" for " death shall
be swallowed up in victory," and " the corruptible
will have put on incorruption." Then " all tears
shall be wiped from thy eyes," and all sorrow taken
from thy heart ; and thou shalt enjoy perpetual de-
light in the lovely society of angels, and " the spi-
rits of the just made perfect."

4. O was it possible for thee to behold the un-
fading brightness of those crowns, which the blessed
wear in heaven; and with what triumphant glory
they, whom the world once despised, and thought
unworthy even of life itself, are now invested ; verily,
thou wouldst humble thyself to the dust, and rather
choose to be inferior to all men, than superior even
to one : instead of sighing for the perpetual enjoy-
ment of the pleasures of this life, thou wouldst re-
joice in suffering all its afflictions for the sake of
God; and wouldst count it great gain, to be despised
and rejected as nothing among men.

5. If thou hadst a true sense of these astonishing

270

glories, which are ofFered thee as the object of thy
faith and hope, and didst suffer the thought and de-
sire of them to enter into the depths of thy heart,
couldst thou dare to utter one complaint of the evil
of thy own state ? Is any labour too painful to be
undertaken, any affliction too severe to be sustained,
for eternal life ? Or is the gain or loss of the king-
dom of God an alternative of no importance ? Lift
up thy thoughts and thy desires, therefore, continu-
ally to heaven. Behold, all who have taken up the
cross, and followed me, the Captain of their salva-
tion, in resisting and conquering the evil of this
fallen state, now rejoice, are now comforted, now se-
cure, now at rest ; and shall abide with me for ever
in the kingdom of my Father !

DISCIPLE.

6. O most blessed mansions of the heavenly Je-
rusalem ! O most effulgent day of eternity, which
night obscureth not, but the supreme truth continu-
ally enlighten eth ! a day of perennial peace and joy,
incapable of change or intermission ! O that all
temporal nature was dissolved, and this day would
dawn upon us ! It shin eth now in the full splen-
dour of perpetual light, to the blessed; but to the
poor pilgrims on earth, it appeareth only at a great
distance, and " through a glass darkly." The re-
deemed sons of heaven triumph in the perception of
the joys of this eternal day, while the banished sons
of Eve lament the bitterness and irksomeness of the
day of time. The days of this life are, indeed, short
and evil, teeming with distress and anguish; in which

271

man is defiled with many sins, agitated with many
passions, disquieted with many fears, tortured with
many cares, embarrassed with many refinements, de-
luded with many vanities, encompassed with many
errors, worn out with many labours, vexed with
temptations, enervated with pleasures, and tormented
with want !

7. O when will these various evils be no more ?
When shall lie delivered from the miserable slavery
of sin ? When, O Lord, shall I think and speak of
thee alone? When shall I perfectly rejoice in thee?
When shall 1 regain my native liberty? O when
will peace return, and be established; peace from
the troubles of the world, and the disorders of sinful
passions; a universal peace, incapable of interrup-
tion ; that " peace which passeth all understand-
ino; ?" When, O most merciful Jesus ! when shall
I stand in pure abstraction from all inferior good, to
gaze upon thee, and contemplate the wonders of re-
deeming love ? When wilt thou be to me all in all?
O when shall I dwell with thee in that kingdom,
which thou hast prepared for thy beloved before the
foundations of the world? I am left a poor and
banished man in the dominions of my enemy, where
perpetual war rages, and every evil has its birth.

8. O soften the rigour of my banishment, assuage
the violence of my sorrow ; for my soul thirsteth af-
ter thee, and all that the world offers for my comfort
would but add more weight to the burden that op-
presses me. I long, O Lord, to enjoy thee truly,
but am not able to lay hold of thee : I would fain
rise to a constant adherence to heavenly objects ; but

272

tlie power of earthly objects operating upon my un»
mortified passions, depresses me, and keeps me
down : my mind labours to be superior to the good
and evil of this animal life, but my body constrains
it to be subject to them. And thus, " wretclied
man that I am," while the spirit is always tending
to heaven, and the flesh to earth, my heart is the
seat of incessant war, and I am become a burden to
myself !

9. O what do I suffer, when raising my soul to
thee ! A crowd of carnal images suddenly rush upon
me, and intercept my flight ! " O my God, be not
far from me ! Put not away thy servant in anger.
Cast forth thy lightning, and scatter" the illusions
of the enemy; " shoot out thine arrows, and destroy"
his power ! Call in my wandering thoughts and de-
sires, and unite them to thyself; efface the impres-
sions of worldly objects ; give me power to cast away
immediately the imaginations of wickedness ! O
Eternal Truth, establish me in thyself, that no blast
of vanity may have power to move me ! O imma-
culate purity, enter the temple of my heart, and let
all that is unholy be driven from thy presence !

10. In merciful compassion to my great infirmity,
pardon me, O Lord, whenever, in prayer, my thoughts
have been engaged by any object but thyself! I
must confess, that my distractions are great and fre-
quent; and instead of being present where I stand
or kneel, I am carried to various places, just as my
roving thoughts have led me. Where my thoughts
are, there I properly am; and my thoughts are
chiefly with that which I most love : those objects

273

too soon recur, which corrupt nature or sinful habit
have made dcHghtful. Upon this ground it is, that
thou, O Truth, hast expressly declared, that " where
the treasure is, there will the heart be also." And
accordingly I find, in the various revolutions of my
changeable heart, that when I love heaven, I take
pleasure in meditating on heavenly enjoyments ; when
I love the world, I think on its advanta^jes with
delight, and with sorrow on its troubles; when I
love the flesh, my imagination wanders through its
various pleasures ; when I love the Spirit, my facul-
ties are with holy joy devoted to spiritual exercises :
whatever I chiefly love, of that I delight chiefly to
hear and speak; and I carry home with me the di-
versified images of it, even to my most secret retire-
ment.

11. But blessed is the man, who can calmly dis-
miss all creatures from the dwelling of his heart, that
thou mayest take possession of it ; who resolutely
denies his fallen self, and with a fervent spirit en-
deavours to exclude all earthly objects, and sup-
press all earthly affections, that, free from distraction,
he may continually offer thee the sacrifice of pure
prayer, and be made fit to mingle with the choirs of
angels, and celebrate thy praise for ever !

M 3

274

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Of the Desire of Eternal Life; and the great Bles-
sedness that is promised to those who resolutely
strive to obtain it,

CHRIST.

1. My son, when thou perceivest the heaven-
born desire of eternal hfe to be breathed into thee,
and longest to be dissolved, that free from the dark
covering of the body, thou mayest, without obscurity,
contemplate my unchangeable brightness; open thy
heart wide, and with all the eafyerness of hunger
receive this holy inspiration. But, without any
mixture of* complacence and self-admiration, let all
thy thanks and praise be faithfully rendered to the
sovereign goodness, which so mercifully dealeth with
thee, so condescendingly visiteth thee, so fervently
exciteth thee, and so powerfully raiseth thee up, lest
by the propensity of thy own nature thou shouldst
be immoveably fixed to the earth ; for this new prin-
ciple of life within thee, is not the production of thy
own reasoning, and thy own efforts ; but is the pure
offspring of divine grace, the free gift of redeeming
love, to lead thee on to holiness, to fill thee with
humility, to sustain thee in all conflicts with sinful
nature, and enable thee to adhere to me with all thy
heart, and serve me with fervent duty, and the abso-
lute surrender of thy own will.

2. The fire of devotion is often ardent, my son ;

275

but the flame ascends not without smoke. Thus, the
desires of many, while they burn for tlic enjoyment
of heaven, are sulhed with the dark vapours of car-
nal affection; and that which is so earnestly sought
from God, is not sought wholly and purely for his
honour : and such is thy desire, however restless
and importunate; for that cannot be pure which is
mixed with self-interest. Make not, therefore, thy
own delight and advantage, but my will and my
honour, the ground and measure of all thy requests ;
for if thou judgest according to truth, thou wilt
cheerfully submit to my appointment, and always
prefer the accomphshment of my will to the gratifi-
cation of thy own desire.

3. I know thy desire, and tliy groaning is not
hid from me. Thou wouldst this moment be ad-
mitted into the glorious liberty of the sons of God ;
thou longest for the immediate possession of the ce-
lestial mansions, and the unfading pleasures of the
heavenly Canaan: but thy hour is not yet come; a
far different time must first take place, a time of
probation, labour, and contest. Thou wishest now
to be filled with the sovereign good; but thou art
not yet capable of enjoying it : I am that Sovereign
Good: wait patiently for me, till the kingdom of
God cometh.

4. Thou must still be proved upon earth, and
exercised with various troubles. Some measures
of consolation shall be imparted, to animate and
sustain thee in thy conflicts; but the plenitude of
peace and joy is reserved for the future world.
" Be strong," therefore, " and of good courage,"

276

as well in doing as in suffering that which is repug-
nant to fallen nature : for thou must now " put on
the new man," with new perceptions, will, and de-
sires.

5. While this important change is making, thou
wilt often be obliged to reHnquish thy own will, and
do that which thou dislikest, and forbear that which
thou choosest : and wilt also often find, that the de-
signs of others will succeed, and thy own prove
abortive; that what others say shall be listened to
with eager attention, but what thou sayest shall
either not be heard, or rejected with disdain; that
others shall ask once, and receive; thou shalt ask
often, and not obtain; that the tongue of fame shall
speak long and loud of the accomplishments of
others, and be utterly silent of thine; and that
others shall be advanced to stations of wealth and
honour, whilst thou art passed by as unworthy of
trust, and incapable of service.

6. At such trials, nature will be greatly offended
and grieved ; and it will require a severe struggle to
suppress resentment : yet much benefit will be de-
rived from a meek and silent submission; for it is
by such trials that the servant of the Lord proves
his fidelity in denying himself, and subduing his
corrupt appetites and passions. The difficulty of
destroying self is greatest, when thou sufferest a
course of events, and beholdest a scene of human
transactions, wholly contrary to thy own will; espe-
cially, when that which thou art required to concur
with or execute, seems either ill-timed, or of small
importance. As thou art placed in a state of sul)-

277

ordination, thou daiest not resist the ruhng power;
but thou findest it painful perpetually to follow the
beck of another, and either relinquish thy own senti-
ments, or act contrary to them.

7. But consider, my son, the speedy end of all
these trials, and the everlasting peace and blessed-
ness that will succeed; they will then, so far from
beinn- occasions of disquietude and distress, furnish
the most comfortable encouragements to persevering
patience. In exchange for that small portion of cor-
rupt and selfish will, which thou hast freely forsaken
in this world, thou shalt always have thy will in
heaven : there, whatever thou wiliest, thou shalt
find ; and whatever thou desirest, thou shalt possess :
there thou shalt enjoy all good, without the fear of
losing any part: there thy will being always the
same with mine, shall desire notliing private and
personal, nothing out of me, nothing but what I
myself desire : there thou shalt meet with no resist-
ance, no accusation, no contradiction, no obstruc-
tion ; but all good shall be present at once, to satisfy
the largest wishes of thy heart : there, for transient
shame patiently endured, I will give immortal ho-
nour ; " the garment of praise for the spirit of heavi-
ness ;" and for the lowermost seat, an everlasting
throne : there the fruits of obedience shall flourish,
the labour of penitence rejoice, and the cheerfulness
of humble subjection receive a crown of glory.
Now, therefore, bow thyself willingly under the
power of every human being : nor regard who it is
that hath commanded this or that ; but let it be thy
only care, to take all in good part, and to execute

278

with a willing mind, whatever is enjoined or re-
quested, whether by thy superior, thy inferior, or
thy equal.

8. Let one man seek after this gratification, and
another after that; let this man glory in one ima-
ginary excellence, and that in another, and let their
self-applause be seconded by the praises of a thou-
sand tongues; but do thou, my son, glory only in
my name, and rejoice only in the contempt of thy-
self, and the accomplishment of my will; let it be
all thy wish, that, whether in life or death, God
may be always glorified in thee !

CHAPTER XXXVIIL*

Of the Resignation of a desolate Spirit to the Will
of God,

DISCIPLE.

1. O Lord God, holy Father, be thou blessed
now and for ever ! for whatever thou wiliest, is
done; and all that- thou wiliest, is good. Let thy
servant rejoice, not in himself nor in any other
creature, but in thee: for thou only art the object
of true joy : thou, O Lord, art my hope and exulta-
tion, my righteousness and crown of glory ! What
good doth thy servant possess, which he hath not

* M. Valart has printed this chapter as a continuation of the
pnccding. — Translator.

279

received from thee, as the free and unmerited gift
of redeeming love ? All is thine, whatever has been
done for me, or given to me. I am poor and afflict-
ed from my " youth up :" and sometimes my soul is
sorrowful, even unto death; and sometimes is filled
with consternation and terror, at the evils that threat-
en to overwhelm me.

2. 1 long, indeed, O Lord, for the blessings of
peace ; I earnestly implore the peace of thy children,
who are sustained by thee in the light of thy coun-
tenance. Shouldst thou bestow peace ; shouldst
thou pour forth the treasures of heavenly joy; the
soul of thy servant shall be tuned to harmony, and
devoutly celebrate thy praise. But if thou still
withholdest thy enlivening presence, as thou art
often pleased to do, he cannot " run the way of thy
commandments ;" but must smite his bosom in the
dust, because it is not with him as it was yesterday
and the day before, " when thy lamp shone upon
his head," and " under the shadow of thy wings"
he was hidden and protected from evil.

3. O righteous Father, ever to be praised, the
hour of thy servant's trial is at hand ! O merciful
Father, ever to be loved, it is meet that, in this
hour thy servant should suffer something for thy
sake ! O Father, infinitely wise, and ever to be
adored, that hour is now come, which thou didst
foreknow from all eternity, in which thy servant
shall be oppressed and enfeebled in his outward man,
that his inward man may Hve to thee for ever ! And
it is necessary he should be disgraced, humbled, and
brought to nothing, in the sight of men; should be

280

broken with sufferings, and worn down with infirmi-
ties; that he may be quahfied to rise again in the
splendour of the new and everlasting day, and be
glorified with thee in heaven ! Holy Father, so
thou hast willed, and so thou hast ordained; and
that is come to pass which thou thyself didst ap-
point !

4. It is thy peculiar favour to him whom thou
hast condescended to choose for thy friend, to let
him suffer in this world in testimony of his fidelity
and love: and be the affliction ever so great, and
however often, and by whatever hand it is adminis-
tered, it comes not but from the counsels of thy
infinite msdom, and it is under the direction of
thy merciful providence; for without thee nothing
is done upon the face of the earth. " It is," there-
fore, " good for me, O Lord, that I should be
afflicted, that I may learn thy statues," and utterly
cast from me aU self-confidence and self- exultation.
It is good for me, that " shame should cover my
face;" that in seeking comfort, I may have recourse,
not to men, but to thee ; and that I may also learn
to adore in silence thy unsearchable judgments, who
afflictest the just together with the unjust, and both
in righteousness and truth.

5. I give thee thanks, O Father of mercies !
that thou hast not spared the evil that is in me;
but hast humbled sinful nature by severe chastise-
ments, inflicting pains, and accumulating sorrows,
both from within and from without; and of all in
heaven and on earth, there is none that can bring
me comfort but thou, O Lord my God, the sove-

281

reign physician of diseased souls ; " who roundest
and healest, who bringest down to the grave, and
raiscst up again !" l^hy chastisement is upon me,
and thy rod shall teach me wisdom !

6. Behold, dearest Father, I am in thy hands,
and bow myself under the rod of thy correction {
O smite my back, and bend my stubborn neck,
till my untractable spirit shall learn ready compU-
ance with thy righteous will ! Make me thy holy
and humble disciple, as thou hast often done others,
that I may cheerfully obey every intimation of thy
good pleasure! To* thy merciful discipline I now
commend aU that 1 am, and bless thee, that thou
hast not reserved me for the awful chastisements of
the future world. Thou knowest the whole extent
of being, and all its parts; and no thought or de-
sire passeth in the heart of man, that is hidden from
thy sight: from all eternity, thou knowest the events
of time ; thou knowest what is most expedient for
my advancement in holiness, and how effectually
tribulation contributeth to wear away the rust of
corruption. Do with me, therefore, O Lord, ac-
cording to thy own will ; only despise me not for my
sinful life, which thou alone perfectly understandest,
and thou alone canst effectually change.

7. Grant, O Lord, that from this hour, I may
know only that, which is worthy to be known ; that
1 may love only that, which is truly lovely ; that I
may praise only that, which chiefly pleaseth thee;
and that I may esteem what thou esteemest, and
despise that which is contemptible in thy sight!
Suffer me no longer to judge by the imperfect per-

282

ception either of my own senses, or the senses of
men ignorant hke myself; but enable me to judge
both of visible and invisible things, by the Spirit of
Truth ; and, above all, to know and to obey thy
will : for those who form their judgment only upon
what they hear and see, are often mistaken; and
the lovers of the world also err and are deceived,
through their continual adherence to the objects of
sense. How great an instance of this fallibility of
judgment, is the glory that is given and received
among men ! for none is made great by the voice of
human praise. When men extol each other, the
cheat imposes upon the cheat, the vain flatters the
vain, the blind leads the blind, the weak supports
the weak ; and such commendation produces not
honour, but shame; for, as it is said by that holy
servant St. Francis, " Such as every man is in thy
sight, O Lord, such, and no greater, is he in him-
self!"

CHAPTER XXXIX.

That when we find ourselves incapable of the higher
Exercises of Devotion, we should with Humility
practise the lower ; and account ourselves rather
worthy of Affliction than Comfort.

CHRIST.

1. It is not possible for thee, my son, to con-
tinue in the uninterrupted enjoyment of spiritual

283

fervour, nor always to stand upon the heights of
pure contemplation : but, through the influence of
that evil nature into which thou art fallen, thou
must sometimes feel thy poverty and weakness, and,
though with weariness and regret, be compelled to
drag the burden of thy corruptible life. As long
as thou art united to an earthly body, thy days will
often be full of heaviness, and thy heart of sorrow ;
and unable to escape from thy prison of flesh and
blood, thou must still feel the severity of its re-
straints, and groan under the power of those carnal
appetites that interrupt the exercises of the Spirit,
and of those dark passions that intercept thy views
of heaven.

2. In such seasons of weakness and sorrow, it is
necessary for thee to take refuge in external exer-
cises, and seek relief from the diligent practice of
common duties; with assured confidence expecting
my return, and with meek patience bearing this
state of banishment to darkness and desolation, till
I visit thee again, and dehver thee from all thy dis-
tress : for I will then make thee forget thy past
sufferings, in the enjoyment of profound peace ; I
will so fully open to thy mind the divine truths con-
tained in my written word, that with " an enlarged
heart" thou shalt begin to " run the way of my
commandments : and in the joyful anticipation of
the heavenly life, thou shalt feel and confess, that
" the sufferings of the present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory which shall be re-
vealed in thee."

284

DISCIPLE.

3. Lord, I am unworthy, not only of the superior
comforts, but of the least visitations of thy Spirit;
and, therefore, thou dealest righteously with me,
whenever thou leavest me to the poverty and wretch-
edness of my fallen life. Though, from the anguish
of my soul, " rivers of tears" were to " flow day
and night;" still thou wouldst deal righteously with
me, if thou still shouldst withdraw thy consolations :
for 1 am worthy only of stripes and afflictions, be-
cause 1 have frequently and obstinately resisted thy
will, and in many things have heinously offended.
From a faithful retrospection on my past life, I can-
not plead the least title to thy smallest favours.
But " thou, O Lord, who art a God full of com-
passion, and plenteous in mercy," and " not willing
that any" of thy creatures should " perish," to
make known the riches of thy goodness in the ves-
sels of mercy, notwithstanding the unworthiness of
thy servant, hast often vouchsafed to comfort him
beyond all human measure or conception; for thy
consolations infinitely surpass the consolations of
men.

4. What, indeed, am I, O Lord ! and what
have I done, that thou shouldst bestow upon me
any consolation? So far from being able to recol-
lect the least goodness proceeding from myself, I
have been always prone to evil, and insensible and
sluggish under the sanctifying influences of thy
grace. Should I say otherwise, thou wouldst stand
in judgment against me, and there is none that

285

would be able to support my cause. My sins are,
in leed, so numerous and aggravated, that they have
even exposed me to everlasting wrath; much more
have they rendered me unworthy of the society
of thy faithful servants, from which I ought to be
driven as an object of universal scorn and contempt.
Painful as it is to pride, thus to plead my ini-
quities against myself, yet truth compels me to it,
and I can only implore forgiveness from thy infinite
mercy.

5. But oppressed with guilt, and filled with con-
fusion as I am, what shall I say? I have no power
to utter more than this — I have sinned, O Lord,
" against thee only have I sinned, have mercy upon
me, according to thy loving-kindness ; and according
to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out all
ray transgressions." Bear with me a little while
that I may truly bewail my corruption and misery,
" before I go to the land of darkness," that is co-
vered with the shadow of death. And from a sinner,
laden with such aggravated guilt, what other repara-
tion dost thou desire for his transgressions, and what
other is he capable of, but a heart broken with holy
sorrow, and humbled to the dust ?

6. In true contrition and humiliation, the hope
of pardon hath its birth ; there the troubled con-
science is set at rest; the grace that was lost, is
found again; man is dehvered from the wrath to
come ; and God and the penitent soul meet together
with a holy kiss. The humble sorrow of a broken
and a contrite heart is thy chosen sacrifice, O Lord !
infinitely more fragrant than clouds of burning in-

286

cense : it is the precious ointment, with which thou
desirest to have thy holy feet anointed. A broken
and a contrite heart, thou never didst, nor ever
wilt despise : that is the place of refuge fi;om the
wrath of the enemy ; and there all impurity both of
the flesh and of the spirit, is cleansed and washed
away.

CHAPTER XL.

That the Grace of God dwells not with those that
love the World,

CHRIST.

1. Son, my grace, which is infinitely pure, like
the fountain from whence it flows, cannot unite with
the love of sensual pleasure, and the enjoyment of
the world. If, therefore, thou desirest to receive
this heavenly gift, thou must banish from thy heart
every affection that obstructs its entrance.

2. Choose a place of undisturbed privacy for thy
resort; delight in retirement and solitude; and, in-
stead of wasting thy invaluable moments in the vain
and unprofitable conversations of men, devote them
to prayer and holy intercourse with God, which will
increase compunction, and purify thy conscience.
That thou mayest live to mc in purity and peace,
rate the whole world at nothing, and abstract thy
thoughts and desires from its cares and pleasures;
for thou canst not live to me, whilst thou seekest

287

delight in the transitory enjoyments of time and
sense. Thou must wean thy heart from all human
consolation and depcndance ; and be able to forsake
even thy most intimate associates and dearest friends.
This duty, and the ground of it, I have already
taught thee by my apostle Peter, who earnestly be-
seeches my faithful followers to consider themselves
as, what they truly are, "strangers and pilgrims"
in the world ; and, in that character, to abstain from
the indulgence of earthly and carnal affections,
" which war against the soul."

3. With what confidence and peace shall that
man, in the hour of his dissolution, look on death,
whom no personal affection or worldly interest binds
down to the present life ! But the sensual and
sickly soul is not capable of such abstraction; nor
can the natural man conceive the power of this hea-
ven-born Hberty of spirit. When, however, he
feels the desire of this inestimable privilege kindled
within him, he must labour to renounce all partial
affections and interests, of whatever nature or de-
gree ; and, above aU enemies, guard against himself.
When self is once overcome, the conquest of every
other e\dl will be easy. This is the true victory ;
this the glorious triumph of the new man ! And he,
whose sensual appetite is kept in continual subjection
to his spirit, and his spirit in continual subjection to
my will, he is this mighty conqueror of himself, and
the lord of the whole world.

4. If, with holy ambition, thou desirest to ascend
this height of perfection, thou must set out with a
resolved will, and first lay the axe to the rootj that

288

the hidden life of self may be cut out, and all desire
of personal gratification in the enjoyment of eartlily
good be utterly extirpated. From self-love, as the
corrupt stock, are derived the numerous branches of
that evil, which forms the trials of man in his strug-
gles for redemption ; and when this stock is plucked
up by the roots, hoHness and peace will be implanted
in its room, and flourish for ever with unfading ver-
dure. But how few labour at this extirpation !
How few seek to obtain that divine life, which can
only rise from the death of self! And thus men
lie bound in the complicated chains of animal pas-
sions, unwilling, and therefore unable, to rise above
the selfish enjoyments of flesh and blood. But he
that desireth to "follow me in the regeneration"
with an enlarged heart, must endeavour to suppress
and kiU the evil appetites and passions of his fallen
nature; and not by a partial fondness, which hath
its birth from self-love, adhere to any creature.

CHAPTER XLI.

Of the different Characters and Operations of
Nature and Grace.

CHRIST.

1. My son, observe, with watchful attention, the
motions of nature and grace; for though infinitely
different, they are yet so subtle and intricate, as not
always to be distinguished, but by an illuminated
and sanctified spirit. Men invariably desire the

289

possession of good ; and some good is always pre-
tended, as the constant motive of their words and
actions ; and, therefore, many are deluded by an ap-
pearance of good, when the reality is wholly wanting.

2. Nature is crafty; she allures, ensnares, and
deceives; and continually designs her own gratifi-
cation, as her ultimate end. But grace walks in
simplicity and truth ; " abstains from all appearance
of evil ;" pretends no fallacious views ; but acteth
from the pure love of God, in whom she rests as her
supreme and final good.

3. Nature abhors the death of self; she will not
be restrained, will not be conquered, will not be
subordinate, but reluctantly obeys when obedience
is unavoidable. Grace, on the contrary, is bent on
self-mortification ; she continually resists the sensual
appetite ; she seeks occasion of subjection ; she longs
to be subdued ; and even uses not the liberty she
possesses : she loves to be restrained by the rules of
strict discipline ; and so far from desiring the exer-
cise of authority and dominion, it is her continual
wish, that in body, soul, and spirit, she may live in
perfect submission to the will of God ; and, for the
sake of God, is always disposed to humble herself
under the power of every human being.

4. Nature is always labouring for her own interest ;
and, in her intercourse with others, considers only
what advantages she can secure for herself: but
grace is wholly inattentive to personal profit and con-
venience; and regards that most, which is most sub-
servient to the common good.

5. Nature, as her chief distinction, is fond of

N 1

290

receiving honour and applause ; grace faithfully as-
cribes all honour and praise to God, as his unalien-
able ricrht.

o

6. Nature dreads ignominy and contempt, and can-
not bear them even in the cause of truth ; but grace
rejoices to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus.

7. Nature courts idleness and rest; grace shuns
idleness as the nurse of sin, and embraces labour as
the condition of life.

8. Nature dehghts in the splendour of dress ; she
hates and despises what is coarse and vulgar, and
wearies imagination in the contrivance of ornament.
But grace thinks not of decorating that body, which
is the disgrace and punishment of man ; and, there-
fore, spontaneously puts on the most plain and hum-
ble garments, nor refuses even those that are dis-
agreeable to the flesh, ill-fashioned, and decayed.

9. Nature regards only the good and evil of this
temporal world ; she is elated with success, and de-
pressed by disappointment; and the least breath of
reproach kindleth the fire of her wrath. But grace
adheres not to the enjoyments of time and sense;
she is unmoved either by loss or gain, and unin-
censed by the bitterest invectives ; and she lives only
in the hope of eternal life.

10. Nature continually seeks after those trea-
sures, which may not only be corrupted by moth and
rust, and stolen by thieves, but which are in them-
selves perishing and evanescent. Grace lays up all
her treasures in heaven, where nothing perisheth,
nothing fadeth ; and " where neither moth nor rust
do corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal."

291

11. Nature is covetous; she grasps at peculiarity
of possession, and greedily takes what she hates to
irive away. Grace is benevolent and bountiful to
all; assumes no propriety; is contented with the
necessary supports of life; and esteems it "more
blessed to give, than to receive."

12. Nature is strongly disposed to the enjoyment
of the creatures, to the gratification of sensual de-
sire, and to incessant wandering from place to place
in quest of new delight. Grace is continually drawn
after God and goodness ; she renounces the influence
of the creatures, relinquishes the interests of the
world, abhors the indulgences of the flesh, restrains
the desire of wandering, and even for shame declines
being seen in places of public resort.

13. Nature, in the depths of distress, seeks all
her comfort from that which produces animal delight ;
grace has no comfort but in God ; and leaving below
ibis visible world, seeks all her rest in the enjoyment
of the sovereign good.

14. Nature always acts upon principles of self-
interest: she does nothing good for its own sake:
but for every benefit she confers, expects either a
present recompense, or such an establishment in the
favour and approbation of men, as will secure a fu-
ture return of some superior good : and besides that
which she hopes to receive back in kind, she desires
to have her services and gifts highly esteemed and
applauded. Grace, for the highest offices of charity
and bounty, expects no recompense from men ; but
continually looks up to God, as her exceeding great
reward : she has no temporal interests to secure ;

N 2

292

for she desires no greater share of the possessions of
time, than is necessary to sustain Iier in her progress
to eternity.

15. Nature exults in the extensive interest of
numerous relations and friends ; glories in dignity
of station, and splendour of descent; fawns upon
the powerful ; caresses the rich ; and, with partial
condemnation, applauds those most that are most
Hke herself. But grace loves her enemies, and,
therefore, counts not the number of her friends;
she values not the splendour of station, and the no-
bility of birth, but as they are dignified by superior
virtue : she favours the poor rather than the rich ;
compassionates the innocent more than the powerful ;
rejoices with him that obeys the truth, not with the
hypocrite; and continually exhorts even the good,
not only to " covet earnestly the best gifts," but in
" a more excellent way," by divine charity, to be-
come like the Son of God.

16. Nature, v/hen she feels her want and misery,
quickly and bitterly complains: grace bears, with
meekness and patience, all the poverty and wretched-
ness of this fallen state.

17. Nature refers all excellence to herself; ar-
gues and contends for her own wisdom, and her own
goodness : but grace, conscious of her divine origi-
nal, refers all the excellence she has to God ; she
does not arrogantly presume upon her own wisdom,
and her own goodness, for she ascribes neither good-
ness nor wisdom to herself; she contends not for
the preference of her own opinion to the opinion of
another, but in her searches after truth submits

293

every thought and sentiment to the correction and
guidance of infinite wisdom.

18. Nature is fond of deep researches, and with
eager curiosity listens to that which is new and
strange; she affects to be busy about the rectitude
of pubUc opinions, and pretends to demonstrate truth
by sensible experiment ; she desires to be known as
the guardian of men's minds from the imposition of
rehgious error; and pursues those inquiiies most,
that most attract admiration and applause. But
grace does not follow the cry of novelty, nor suffer
herself to be captivated by subjects of curious and
refined speculation : she knows, that the lust of vain
wisdom is derived from the old stock of human cor-
ruption ; and that all that is new in this sublunary
world, is no more than the varied forms of its own
vanity and misery : she, therefore, restrains the busy
activity of the senses; suppresses the vain compla-
cence, and shuns the vainer ostentation of human
learning; conceals, under the veil of humility, the
gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit ; and, in every
observation and discovery, seeks only the fruits of
holiness, and the praise and honour of God. She
desires not that herself and her own wisdom and
goodness may be proclaimed and celebrated, but that
God may be blessed and glorified in all his gifts,
who with pure love bestoweth all that is possessed
both by angels and men.

19. Such is the transcendency of grace to nature !
She is the offspring of the light of heaven, the im-
mediate gift of God, the peculiar distinction of the
elect, and the pledge of eternal happiness ; by whose

294

power the soul is raised from earth to heaven, and
from carnal transformed to spiritual. The more,
therefore, nature is suppressed and subdued, the
more grace lives and triumphs; and by superadded
communications of light and strength, "the inward
man is, day by day," more and more "renewed"
after the image of God.

DISCIPLE.

20. O Lord, my God, who didst create me after
tliy own divine image, from which I am now fallen ;
mercifully bestow upon me the grace which thou
liast represented as so necessary to my restoration,
that my most depraved nature, which is always tend-
ing to sin and to perdition, may be totally subdued !
I feel in myself a " law of sin warring against the
law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity" to
sensual and malignant passions, which I cannot resist,
till thy Holy Spirit kindles in my heart another fire.

21. I have need of the continual operation of his
sanctifying power, to overcome all the workings of
revolted nature, which is disposed to evil from its
birth. It fell in Adam, and fallen, descended from
him to all mankind, who have increased its obliquity
by voluntary and habitual sin : so that nature, which
came forth from thee pure and blessed, and in union
with the light of heaven, is now spoken of, to ex-
press the impurity, darkness, and misery of man ;
for, left to its own motions, it is ever seeking itself,
and tending to the enjoyments of that animal and
earthly state into which it is fallen. The small
portion of that divine breath which panteth after

295

thee, is like a spark of fire buried under a heap of
ashes. This is the new nature born of the seed of
the eternal word, mercifully reserved in the human
soul as the only principle of its redemption ; which,
though surrounded with darkness, and repressed by
animal passions, has yet some real discernment of
the essential and immutable difference between good
and evil, truth and falsehood; but not having re-
ceived the full irradiation of divine light, nor re-
covered the strength and purity of its affections, it
is feeble in its purposes of duty, and unable to fulfil
even that which it approveth.

22. From this ground it is, O my God ! that " I
defifrht in thv law after the inward man," convinced
that "the commandment is holy, just, and good,"
condemning all evil, and warring against the prac-
tice of it; "but with the flesh 1 serve the law of
sin," and submit to the rigorous tyranny of sensual
appetite, instead of the mild government of thy
Spirit : from this it is, that " to will is present with
me; but how to perform that which is good, I find
not ;" from this it is, that I form many purposes of
holiness, but upon the trial of my strength to ac-
complish them, am driven back by the least difficul-
ty; and from this, that though I know the path
that leads to the summit of perfection, and clearly
discern by what steps it is to be ascended, yet laden
and oppressed with the burden of my corruption, I
am unable to make any progress in it. How indis-
pensably necessary, therefore, is thy grace, O Lofd !
by whose power alone every good work must be be-
gun, continued, and perfected ! Without that

296

power, I can do nothing that is acceptable to thee;
but, with it, I can do all things.

23. O grace essentially divine ! thou hast all
merit within thyself, and givest to the endowments
of nature all their value; for what is beauty, or
strength, or wit, or learning, or eloquence in the
sight of God, where grace does not dwell? The
endowments of nature are common to the evil and
the good ; but the ornaments of grace are the pecu-
liar marks of the elect, and all that are distinguished
by them shall inherit eternal life. The chief orna-
ment of grace is charity ; without which, neither the
gift of prophecy, nor the power of working miracles,
nor the knowledge of the profoundest mysteries, are
of any profit; not even faith, and hope, and that
zeal which bestoweth all its possessions to feed the
poor, and giveth the body to be burned, are accep-
table to thee, O God ! without charity.

Come, then, O meekness of the Lamb of God !
thou, who makest the poor in spirit rich in good-
ness, and the rich in goodness poor in spirit; O
come, descend into my soul, and fill it with the light
and comfort of thy blessed presence, lest it faint and
perish in the darkness and barrenness of its fallen
state !

24. O God of all grace and consolation ! that I
may find grace in thy sight, is the sum of my re-
quests ; for thy grace is abundantly sufficient to
supply all my wants, if I were even destitute of
every thing that nature loves and covets to obtain.
Though I am tempted and troubled on every side ;
''yea, though I walk through the valley of the

•297

shadow of death ;" yet while thy grace is with me,
" I will fear no evil." She is my strength, my
counsel, and my defence ; mightier than all enemies,
and wiser than all the wise ! She is the revealer
of truth, the mistress of holy discipline, the sancti-
fier of the heart, the comforter of affliction, the
banisher of fear and sorrow, the nurse of devotion,
the parent of contrition ; without whose quickening
power I should soon become an unfruitful and
withered branch upon the tree of life, fit only to be
cast away or thrown into the fire. Grant, there-
fore, O most merciful Lord, that thy grace may
abide with me continually ; and produce in me an
earnest desire and loncrinfr after the renovation of
thy divine image, which is almost effaced by sin !

CHAPTER XLII.

That we must deny ourselves^ take up the Cross of
Ch?'ist, and follow him.

CHRIST.

1. The more thou forsakest thyself, my son, the
nearer wilt thou approach to me. To abandon tlie
desire of earthly good, is the only way to obtain in-
ward peace ; and to abandon thy own will, is the
only way to become united to God; I would have
thee, therefore, without the least reluctance or mur-
mur, make an unreserved sacrifice of thyself to my
will. Follow me; "I am the way, the truth, and
n3

298

the life :" without the way which I have opened,
thou canst not return to Paradise ; without the
truth which I communicate, thou canst not know
the way ; and without the hfe which I quicken, thou
canst not ohey the truth. 1 am the way which thou
must go, the truth thou must beUeve, and the Hfe
thou must desire and hope for : I am the invariable
and perfect way ; the supreme and infallible truth ;
the blessed, the vincreated, and endless life. If
thou continuest in my way, " thou shalt know the
truth, and the truth shall make thee free," and fit
thee for the possession of eternal life."

2. This I have already declared in the sacred
records of my precepts : and have also told thee,
that, " if thou wilt enter into life, thou must keep
the commandments;" if thou wilt know the truth,
thou must " continue in my word;" if thou wilt be
perfect, thou must " sell all that thou hast :" if thou
wilt be my disciple, thou must " deny thyself;" if
thou wilt keep thyself for eternal life, thou must
hate thy temporal life; if thou wouldst be exalted
in heaven, thou must humble thyself on earth; and
if thou wilt reign with me, thou must take up thy
cross, and suffer with me : for the path of light and
glory is found only by the servants of the cross,
who, " through much tribulation must enter into
the kingdom of God."

DISCIPLE.

3. Lord Jesus ! thy way is narrow and painful,
and despised by the world : do thou, therefore, en-
able me to walk in it, and with meekness and pa-

299

tience to bear the contempt of the world; "for the
disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above
his lord." Let thy servant be continually exercised
in the study and imitation of thy most holy life, in
which all his perfection and blessedness is centered.
Whatever else I hear, or read, or think of, gives me
neither instruction nor dehght.

CHRIST.

4. Son, " if thou knowest these things, happy
art thou if thou doest them." " He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth them; he it is that
loveth me: and I will love him, and will manifest
myself to him ;" and make him to sit down with me
in the kingdom of my Father.

DISCIPLE.

5. Lord, I beseech thee, that this gracious pro-
mise may be accompHshed in thy servant. I have
received the cross from thee: and by the strength
of that Almighty hand which laid it upon me, I
have borne it, and will bear it even unto death.
The life which thou quickenest in thy disciples, is,
indeed, a continual cross to the appetites and pas-
sions of fallen nature : but it is the Hght that must
guide them back to Paradise. This important
journey is begun: O suffer me not to look back
with a partial and selfish fondness for the good of
this world, however specious ; lest I incur the dread-
ful disqualification for " the inheritance of thy king-
dom !"

6. Come, my beloved brethren, let us take cou-

300

rage, and hand in hand pursue our journey in the
path of Hfe : Jesus will be with us ! For Jesus'
sake we have taken up the cross; and, for Jesus'
sake, we will persist in bearing it : he, who is our
captain and our guide, will be our strength and our
support. Behold our King, who will fight our bat-
tles, leads the way ! Let us resolutely follow, un-
dismayed by ' any terrors ; and let us choose death,
rather than stain the glory of which we are made
partakers, by deserting the cross.

CHAPTER XLIII.

Against extravagant Dejection, upon being some-
times betrayed by human Weakness*

CHRIST.

1. Humility and patience, my son, under adver-
sity, are more acceptable to me, than much joy and
fervour when all is prosperous without and peaceful
within.

2. Why art thou offended and grieved at every
little injury from men ; when, if it were much greater,
it ought to be borne without emotion ? As fast as
such evils rise, let their influence be banished from
thy mind : they are not new ; thou hast met with
many, and, if thy life be long, s!ialt meet with many
more.

3. When adversity stands not in thy path, thou
boastest of thy fortitude; and canst also give ex-

30J

cellent counsel to others, whom thou expectest to
derive strength from thy exhortations : but no sooner
do tlie same evils that oppressed them turn upon
thyself, than thy fortitude forsakes thee, and thou
art destitute both of counsel and strenofth. O let
the frequent instances of the power which the lightest
evils have over thee, keep thee continually mindful
of thy great frailty. No evil, however, is permitted
to befall thee, but what may be made productive of
a much greater good.

4. When thou meetest with injury from the vio-
lence or treachery of men, exert all thy resolution
to drive the thoughts of it from thy heart : but if it
toucheth thee too sensibly to be soon buried in for-
getfulness, let it neither depress nor vex thee; and
if thou canst not bear it cheerfully, at least bear it
patiently. If any censure that is uttered against
thee be too severe and cruel to be heard in silence,
suppress thy indignation before it bursteth into
flames; and suffer no expression of impatience and
resentment to escape thy lips, that may give occasion
of scandal to the weak. The storm that is thus raised
within thee, will soon subside ; and the wounds thy
heart has received from the arrows of reproach, shall
be healed by the influence of restoring grace. I Hvc
for ever ; ready to help thee upon all occasions, and
to bestow more abundant consolations upon thee, if
thou putt est thy whole trust in my aid, and devoutly
callest upon me for it.

5. Keep thy mind calm and patient, and girded
for severer conflicts. But because thou art often
strongly tempted, deeply troubled, and easily sub-

302

dued, thou must not, therefore, thmk that all is
lost : thou art man, not God ; a spirit fallen into a
corrupt animal body, not a pure angel : and how
canst thou expect to continue in one unchangeable
state of hoUness, when this was not the privilege of
Lucifer in heaven, nor of Adam in paradise, who
stood not long in their original perfection? Give
up thyself wholly to my mercy : I am he who com-
forteth all that mourn ; and raiseth to a participation
of divine strength, all that are truly sensible of their
own weakness.

DISCIPLE.

6. Thy words, O Lord, distil as dew, and are
" sweeter" to my taste " than honey, or the honey-
comb." What would become of me, in the midst
of so much darkness, corruption, and misery, without
thy Holy Spirit to illuminate, sanctify, and comfort
me ? I will regard not what nor how much I suffer,
if I can but be made capable of enjoying thee, my
supreme and only good ! Be mindful of me, O most
merciful God ! Grant me a safe passage through
this vale of sin and sorrow, and in the true path con-
duct me to thy heavenly kingdom ! Amen.

303

CHAPTER XLIV.

Against the vain and presumptuous Inquiries of
Reason into subjects that are above the Com-
prehension of the Natural Man,

CHRIST.

1. Forbear to reason, my son, upon deep and
mysterious subjects, especially the secret judgments
of God. Ask not, why this man is forsaken, and
that distinguished by a profusion of grace : why one
is so deeply humbled, and another so eminently ex-
alted. These things surpass the limits of human
understanding; nor can the deepest reasoning inves-
tigate the proceedings of the Most High. When,
therefore, such questions are either suggested by
the enemy, or proposed by the vain curiosity of
men, answer in the words of the royal prophet,
" Righteous art thou, O Lord ! and just are thy
judgments. The judgments of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether." My judgments are to be
feared, not discussed : for they are incomprehensible
to every understanding but my own.

2. Forbear also to inquire and dispute concern-
ing the pre-eminence of the saints, who is the most
holy, and who the greatest in the kingdom of hea-
ven. These questions produce the strife of unpro-
fitable debate, and nourish the presumption and
vain- glory of which they are born: and while one,
ii. the pride of human wisdom, insolently contends

304

for the superior excellence of this saint, and another
for that, it is impossible, but that envyings and dis-
sensions must rise among those who should " love
as brethren :" for I am not a God of dissension, but
of peace: and the interests of peace are promoted
by meekness and humility, not by strife and self-
exaltation.

3. That love, which, with such passionate ardour,
preferreth and exalteth one saint above another, is
not born of the Spirit, but is earthly and sensual.
I am he who formed all the saints; I gave them
grace, I have exalted them to glory; I conferred
the pecuhar excellence which distinguishes each,
" preventing him with the blessings of goodness :"
I knew my beloved before the birth of time; and
chose those out of the world, who had not chosen
me : I called them by the free determination of
sovereign goodness, drew them with the cords of
love, and led them in safety through various tempt-
ations; I poured upon them the consolations of my
Spirit, and crowned the patience which I enabled
them to exercise; I own the last as well as the
first, and embrace every one with inestimable love:
I alone, who am always to be blessed and praised,
am to be " admired and glorified in all my saints."
He, therefore, who despiseth the least of these my
servants, honoureth not the greatest; for " I have
made both the small and the great, and care for all
alike:" but by despising one member of the king-
dom of heaven, he not only dishonoureth the rest,
but dishonoureth me: for all are united, by divine
charity, into one body, of which I am the head;

305

all will and desire the same unchangeable good ;
and all love one another in the unity of his Spirit,
who is all in all.

4. They are raised far above the influence of un-
redeemed nature, which is ever tending to the love
of self; and are passed into my love, in which they
dwell with unutterable peace and joy. This love
no power is able to alter or suppress; for it is the
inextinguishable fire of their own hfe, " delivered
from the bondage of darkness," and restored to its
union with eternal truth. Let not, therefore, vain
and sensual men, who have no conception of higher
good than is found in the selfish enjoyments of their
earthly life, presume any longer to dispute concern-
ing the state of the saints, and their different de-
grees of perfection and glory: their decisions are
governed by the heat of animal passions, not directed
by the spirit of truth : and they give honour to one
saint, and take it away from another, in conformity
to their predominant humour, or in subserviency to
their prevailing interest.

5. There are some, indeed, in whom these mis-
taken notions and partial attachments proceed from
ignorance, without any mixture of interest or de-
sign ; who, having attained but an inferior degree of
illumination, know not the power of divine love.
They are determined in the preference both of an-
gels and men, by natural instincts, and those per-
sonal singularities which are the foundation of pri-
vate friendship ; and the same distinctions of opinion
and affection are made in the characters of the glo-
rified inhabitants of heaven, as prevail among the

306

inferior characters of imperfect men on earth. But
these characters are totally incommensurate : a truth
which the unenhghtened know not, and which the
enlightened only know by the teaching of the Spirit
of Truth.

6. Beware, then, my son, of being led by vain
curiosity to " search the things that are above thy
strength ;" and let all thy faculties be employed in
that only needful and important inquiry, how thou
ihyself mayest be found in the kingdom of heaven,
though in the least and lowest place. If it was
possible for any one to know who is the most holy,
and who the greatest there, what would that know-
ledge avail him, unless it made him more humble,
and excited in him greater ardour to glorify my
name? He who, in constant attention to the state
of his own soul, laments the multitude and enormity
of his sins, and the small number and imperfections
of his virtues; and when he thinks on the saints,
thinks only how exceedingly remote he is from the
perfection which they have attained ; is more accept-
able to me, than he who employs his time and
thoughts in considering and disputing about the dif-
ferent degrees of excellence and glory, that distin-
guish the particular members of that illustrious as-
sembly. It is infinitely more useful, and more safe,
with tears and prayers to implore grace to imitate
the great examples they have left on earth : than to
labour, by fruitless inquiries into their state in hea-
ven, to know what no human understanding is able
to comprehend.

7. That saints are highly blessed, and perfectly

307

content ; and men should be content with the imper-
fect knowledge of their fallen state, and suppress
their vain curiosity, and refrain from their vainer
disputes. They glory not in any personal excel-
lence ; for they arrogate no good themselves, but
ascribe all to me, who with infinite liberahty have
freely given them whatever they possess : and the
consummation of their own honour and happiness,
is found in the boundless love of God, and their
joyful celebration of his praise. The more exalted
their state is, the more humble is their spirit, and
the more conformable and dear to me : and, there-
fore, it is written, that " the four and twenty elders,"
who were seated round the throne of heaven, " cast
their crowns before the throne ; and fell down before
him that sat on the throne ; and worshipped him that
liveth for ever and ever."

8. Many solicitously inquire, who is greatest in
the kingdom of heaven, that utterly neglect the
only important inquiry, whether they themselves
shall be thought worthy to be numbered among the
least. To be the least, where all are great, is to
be great ; and all in heaven are great, for they are
the adopted sons and heirs of God : " a little one
shall become a thousand, and the child shall die an
hundred years old ; but the sinner an hundred years
old shall be accursed."

9. When the disciples, whom I had chosen to
attend my ministry upon earth, clamorously inquired
who should be " the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven;" it was answered, " Except ye be con-

308

verted, and become as little children, ye shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever
shall humble himself as a little child, the same is
greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Woe be to
them, therefore, who, in the pride of human attain-
ments, disdain the spontaneous and meek humihty
of little children ; for the gate of the kingdom of
heaven is too low to give them entrance ! " Woe
unto them that are rich, who say they are increased
in mental riches, and have need of nothing, for they
have received their consolation;" and whilst the
poor enter into the kingdom, they shall stand weep-
ing and wailing without ! But rejoice, ye humble ;
and leap for joy, ye poor in spirit ! for while ye
continue in the truth that has made you what ye
are, " yours is the kingdom of God !"

CHAPTER XLV.

That all Hope and Confidence is to be placed in
God alone,

DISCIPLE.

1. Lord ! what is my confidence in this life,
and what my comfort in tlie possession and enjoy-
ment of all things under heaven ? Is it not thee
alone, O Lord my God, whose mercies are without
number, and without measure ? Where hath it
been well with me, when thou wert absent ? or

309

where could it be ill, when thou wert present? I
had rather be naked, hungry, and despised with
thee, than abound in honour, wealth, and pleasure,
without thee : would rather choose, with thee, to
wander upon the earth, and have no place " where
to lay my head," than, without thee, to possess a
throne in heaven. But, where thou art, there is
heaven; and death and hell are only there where
thou art not. Thou art the desire of ray soul ; and
to thee, my sighs and groans, my cries and prayers,
shall continually ascend. There is none that is
able to deliver me from my necessities, none in whose
power and goodness I can trust, but thee, O my
God ! Thou art my refuge and my hope, in every
distress ; my most powerful Comforter, and most
faithful friend !

2. Men seek themselves, and their own interest;
thou seekest only my redemption from the bondage
of evil, and orderest all thy dispensations for its
accomplishment. Though thou permittest me to be
exposed to the trial of various troubles, yet thou mer-
cifully superintendest the conflict, and directest the
event for my supreme and everlasting good : " for
whom thou lovest thou chastenest ; and scourgest
every son whom thou receivest." And in this awful
probation, thou art not less to be loved and praised,
than when thou fillest my soul with heavenly consola-
tions. Thou alone, therefore, O Lord my God ! art
my hope and sanctuary; with thee I leave all my tri-
bulation and anguish, and resign the beginning, con-
tinuancca and end of every trouble to thy blessed wilL

310

3. Wherever I look for support and consolation
out of thee, I find nothing but weakness and dis-
tress : and if thou dost not revive, strengthen, illu-
minate, deliver, and preserve me, the friendship of
mankind can give no consolation, the strength of
the mighty bring no support, the counsels of the
wise, and the labours of the learned, impart no in-
struction, the treasures of the earth purchase no
deliverance, and the most remote and secret places
afford no protection. All persons and things that
seem to promise peace and happiness, are in them-
selves vanity and nothing, and subvert the hope
that is built upon them : but thou art the supreme,
essential, and final good; the perfection of life, fight,
and love: and the most powerful support of thy
servants, is found in an unreserved and absolute
dependence upon thee.

4. " Unto thee," therefore, " do I lift up mine
eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens !" In
thee, my God, the Father of mercies, I place all my
confidence ! O illuminate and sanctify my soul
with the influence of thy Holy Spirit; that being
delivered from all that darkness and impurity of its
aUenated life, which thy eyes cannot look upon, it
may become the living temple of thy holy presence,
the seat of thy eternal glory ! In the immensity of
thy goodness, O Lord, and " in the multitude of
thy tender mercies, turn unto me;" and hear the
prayer of thy poor servant, who has wandered far
from thee into the region of the shadow of death.
O protect and keep my soul amidst the innumerable

311

evils which this corruptible life is always bringing
forth ; and by the perpetual guidance of thy grace,
lead me in the narrow path of holiness, to the realms
of everlasting light, love, and peace. Amen.

FINIS.

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